‘Citizen’s arrest’ helps Gardaí catch armed robber

A man in his late 20s has been arrested and is being detained at Ennis Garda Station after members of the public gave pursuit when a shop in Ennis was robbed at knifepoint on Friday morning.

O’Connor’s shop in the Market in Ennis was held up at knifepoint on Friday morning at approximately 9.45pm. A female staff member was in the shop at the time and was confronted by a man who was wearing a hoodie and brandishing a knife.

She handed over a sum of money to the man, who then fled from the shop in the direction of Parnell Street. Two members of the public observed the man fleeing and gave chase, catching up with him at the Parnell Street Car Park by the river wall.

Gardai, who were alerted to the incident, promptly attended the scene and apprehended the suspect at this location. A knife and a sum of money was recovered as part of their investigation.

A senior garda confirmed that they are investigating a connection between this incident and a further robbery, which occurred at Moloney’s Shop on O’Connell Street on Wednesday evening.

No one was injured during the incident.

Anyone with information in relation to either incident is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065-6848100.