THREE men were rushed to hospital after violent clashes linked to rival feuding gangs overnight.
One of the three taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick was being prepped for surgery, sources said.
Weapons, believed to be slash hooks, were used in incidents that occurred at Hyde Avenue, on the south side of Limerick City, late on Saturday night.
A car was also “smashed up” and the area remained cordoned off this morning.
The feud has escalated in recent months with increased shootings, pipe bomb attacks and fire bombings of homes.
A large group of people were involved in the clashes, as local sources described the scenes as “chaotic” and expressed concern that people could be “killed” if it continues.
A Garda spokesman said: “Gardai were alerted to violent disorder and criminal damage incidents on Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick on the night of June 21 at approximately 11.50pm.
“A vehicle was damaged during the incident and three males were taken to University Hospital Limerick with injuries which are believed to be non-life-threatening.”
Gardai recently told Limerick District Court that “permanent armed patrols” have been established in parts of the city.
And cops are also being stationed outside some schools due to the feuding between rival families.
Gardai told the court that the feuding factions “pose a serious and active threat” to innocent members of the public as the violence can erupt at any time.
Garda sources said many involved in the feud are abusing cocaine.
ACTIVE THREATS
Officers have visited a number of people recently to inform them their lives are in danger due to active threats.
It is also believed Gardai have intercepted the transport of guns and drugs through the city.
Sources said the feud is reaching boiling point, although a number of individuals suspected of involvement have been taken off the streets and remanded in custody.
The feud currently escalating on the city’s southside relates to a row between a criminal family and an organised crime group.
Some of the individuals linked to the current feud were closely associated with criminal figures involved in a gang row that left 20 men dead between the late 1990s and mid-2000s in Limerick.
Three men were rushed to hospital after violent clashes linked to rival feuding gangs in Limerick[/caption]
