Some residents of Main Street in Castlerea, Co Roscommon have given evidence of what they saw and heard on the night Detective Garda Colm Horkan was shot dead.
They took the stand at the trial of Stephen Silver, of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, who denies murdering Detective Horkan, but has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
John Drury said he awoke to the sound of a bang on the night of June 17, 2020.
He told the jury he heard shouting and roaring outside. When he looked out his window, which across the street from where it’s believed Det Colm Horkan was shot, he said he saw two men wrestling on the ground. As they did, he said he heard two bangs and then saw one of them roll back onto one knee. He said the other man wasn’t moving.
“I heard three more bangs then,” he said. He told the jury he could see the gun. The man who rolled away had it. When asked under cross-examination if it was like something from an action movie, he replied, “more or less.”
Jenny Makalova was also living on Main St. She also described hearing shouting and gunshots. When she looked out her kitchen window, she said she saw a man lying on the ground with another man standing on the road, holding a gun.
Reporting by Frank Greaney
