A brother of George Nkencho has told an inquest that he saw his brother being shot twice before he had to turn away because he "didn't want to see any more".
Emmanuel Nkencho said he saw shots being fired at George and his physical reaction. He said after the first shot he saw George raise a knife and then there was a second shot and at that point he turned away because he was "in a state of shock".
George Nkencho, 27, suffered fatal gunshot wounds during an incident involving members of the Garda Armed Support Unit outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin, on 30 December 2020.
Emmanuel Nkencho told Dublin District Coroner's Court that he was downstairs at the front door and was looking through a window when he witnessed the incident unfold.
He said his sister Gloria had opened the door at one point and "tried to explain" to gardaí that "this is my brother. He has mental health problems".
Emmanuel said gardaí told them to get back inside and close the door, which they did.
"Did the police hear [what Gloria said]?" asked Eanna Mulloy, senior counsel for the Nkencho family.
"I believe they did," he replied, adding that he recalled his sister said it "quite loud".
He said after the shooting the siblings were left very distressed by what they had seen.
"We were shocked and confused and sad," Emmanuel Nkencho told the coroner’s court.
His sisters Gloria and Grateful Nkencho are due to give evidence at the inquest into their brother's death next week.
Inquest shown video recorded at time of fatal shooting
Earlier today, the jury were shown a short video recorded by a passerby who filmed the moment George Nkencho was fatally shot by armed gardaí outside the family home in west Dublin in December 2020.
Alan O'Reilly said he was walking his dog in a green near the house when he saw a garda Armed Response Unit at the scene.
He said there was a lot of noise and he heard guards shouting "get down, get down".
His impression initially was that it was a raid taking place.
In a statement, Mr O'Reilly said he saw "a fella in a blue top walk into the garden of the house" and that there appeared to be "a standoff".
Mr O'Reilly said he took out his phone and recorded a short video which he uploaded to Snapchat but later removed it after his girlfriend asked him to.
Five gunshots were heard in the video played at the inquest.
Mr O'Reilly said he could see the family of Mr Nkencho were very upset afterwards and that a male was shouting "they shot George, they shot George".
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Mr O'Reilly said he could see emergency medical assistance being administered to Mr Nkencho, who he did not know at the time.
The inquest took a short break after the video was played as it upset some members of the Nkencho family.
A second witness who was also walking his dogs, also reported that he heard "excess shouting" from gardaí telling Mr Nkencho to "drop the knife".
Ray Dunne said he was positioned about 200-300 metres away from the scene of the shooting.
Mr Dunne told the inquest that he saw the taser being discharged one after the other on Mr Nkencho but did not recall hearing the word "taser".
Mr Dunne said that afterwards he saw Mr Nkencho roll over and then make a swipe at gardaí with a knife in his hands.
He added that he observed that "as quick as he hit the ground, he was back up" on his feet and making his way toward the gardaí.
He then heard a succession of shots.
He said Mr Nkencho was making his way back to a garda "as if he was going to attack him" and was swiping his hand upwards in an overhand motion.
Mr Dunne estimated the whole incident happened between 30 and 35 seconds.
Postman Derek Keenan was on his rounds on the morning of the shooting in Manorfields Drive in Clonee on 30 December 2020.
He told the inquest that he heard gardaí shout ''drop the knife'' and described Mr Nkencho as being ''erratic in his movements'' and moving from side to side.
Mr Keenan is the first witness who has stated to the inquest that he heard gardaí issue a clear taser warning to Mr Nkencho.
He heard ''taser taser'' being shouted and recollected Mr Nkencho falling to the ground momentarily after the second taser was administered.
He said he had never seen a knife from where he was positioned outside the property behind a garda.
Mr Keenan told the inquest that his impression of Mr Nkencho was a ''young man in clear distress'', adding that he ''wasn't sure if he was in the right frame of mind to obey the orders''.
Ronan Kennedy, Senior Counsel for An Garda Síochána, asked if he was sure gardaí gave a clear, distinct warning about the issue of non-lethal force of the taser?
Mr Keenan agreed that was the case, and he ended his statement by expressing his condolences to the Nkencho family, who were present in court.
