Robbie Lawlor (Irish criminal)

He was mugged after leaving a gym in December 2019, which was filmed by his assailants, suspected to include Keane Mulready-Woods, a teenager involved with the rival gang who would be subsequently lured to a brutal and horrific death suspected to have been ordered at the hands of Lawlor.[5] During this daylight assault on Lawlor, the assailants stole his gym bag and flip-flops and posted photos of them wearing the latter after the mugging.[5] The assault was allegedly at the behest of a criminal foe of Lawlor.[5] In ruthless revenge, Mulready-Woods' head and hands were severed from the body, and bags with body parts left in rival turfs in holdalls. The presence of flip-flops in the bag with Mulready-Woods' remains dumped in Coolock was widely interpreted as a threat not to cross Lawlor.[5]

On 4 April 2020, he was shot around 11:50am outside a house in Etna Drive, Ardoyne in north Belfast.[1][2][3][6][4] The PSNI and Garda Síochána believe he had travelled to Belfast in the hours before he was shot, possibly to collect debts.[1][2][3] As well as being a suspect in the death of Keane Mulready-Woods he was suspected of being responsible for a number of other killings.[1][2][3] He had been threatened by one faction in the Drogheda feud but was also at odds with a major Dublin criminal who is suspected of several murders including that of Alan Ryan.[1][2][3] Three men suspected of the murder were arrested and questioned by the PSNI at Musgrave police station.[1][2][3]

Three suspects were arrested on Saturday, a fourth was arrested on Sunday.[6]

The shooting was condemned by Detective Sergeant Jason Murphy, as a murder, as a danger to the local community and due to the additional pressures caused by coronavirus pandemic.[1][2][3] The shooting was also condemned by Minister for Justice Naomi Long and Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly.[1][2][3]

The PSNI suspect that a single gunman shot Lawlor.[6]