Nathan_Bell
03-24-09, 14:40
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1164385/Gang-leader-accidentally-blows-brains-drink-drugs-party.html
Gang leader accidentally blows his brains out during drink and drugs party
By Alan Sherry
Last updated at 10:49 AM on 24th March 2009
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Philip Collopy didn't realise his pistol was loaded when he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger
Gangsters videoed their crime boss accidentally blowing his brains out with a handgun during a drink and drugs party, police revealed yesterday.
Philip Collopy, 29, a member of a feuding gang in Limerick, Ireland, apparently did not realise his Glock 9mm pistol was loaded when he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger in front of shocked onlookers.
Collopy, who was aligned to the Keane-Collopy gang in a long-running gangland feud, had emptied the magazine from the handgun, but there was still a bullet in the chamber.
Investigating police were able to rule out foul play in the death almost immediately, after one of his associates handed over footage of the shooting taken on his mobile phone.
Collopy was captured in his kitchen handling the pistol and showing younger people in the house how to kill someone.
Five or six people at the party were later 'unusually fully cooperative' because they did not want to be accused of the killing, said one police source.
The handgun and three magazines were recovered from the scene. The weapon is undergoing technical examination to determine if it has been used in gangland shootings.
The incident occurred at a house in the St Mary's Park area of the city around 2am on Saturday.
Police attached to the Regional Support Unit were on patrol in the area and were alerted to the shooting by a youth who ran from the house saying an ambulance was needed for Collopy, who had a partner and children.
He was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital where the decision was taken to turn off his life-support machine around 8.30pm on Sunday.
His younger brother Damien, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, was treated for shock.
Around six people were in the house when the incident occurred.
It is believed there drink and drugs were taken at the party.
It is understood that Collopy's two other brothers, Kieran and Ray, returned to Ireland from Spain to be at their brother's bedside.
Collopy was well known to police and wore a bulletproof vest when he took to the witness box at Limerick Circuit Court during the trial of Liam 'Baby' Kelly.
He told the court he needed to wear the vest due to the threat posed to his life by rival criminals.
'Sure, I get shot at every week,' he said. He added that there had been several attempts on his life in recent years.
Collopy had been a target of the Criminal Assets Bureau, which seized a €60,000 Toyota Landcruiser from him last year.
He had convictions for possession of a weapon, assault, escaping from custody and criminal damage.
Two years ago he received a 16-month suspended sentence for threatening to kill a man.
Collopy was jailed for two years in 2003 for possession of a weapon. The charge stemmed from a pitched battle between rival criminals outside a fast food restaurant in the city.
Gang leader accidentally blows his brains out during drink and drugs party
By Alan Sherry
Last updated at 10:49 AM on 24th March 2009
Comments (8)
Add to My Stories
Philip Collopy didn't realise his pistol was loaded when he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger
Gangsters videoed their crime boss accidentally blowing his brains out with a handgun during a drink and drugs party, police revealed yesterday.
Philip Collopy, 29, a member of a feuding gang in Limerick, Ireland, apparently did not realise his Glock 9mm pistol was loaded when he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger in front of shocked onlookers.
Collopy, who was aligned to the Keane-Collopy gang in a long-running gangland feud, had emptied the magazine from the handgun, but there was still a bullet in the chamber.
Investigating police were able to rule out foul play in the death almost immediately, after one of his associates handed over footage of the shooting taken on his mobile phone.
Collopy was captured in his kitchen handling the pistol and showing younger people in the house how to kill someone.
Five or six people at the party were later 'unusually fully cooperative' because they did not want to be accused of the killing, said one police source.
The handgun and three magazines were recovered from the scene. The weapon is undergoing technical examination to determine if it has been used in gangland shootings.
The incident occurred at a house in the St Mary's Park area of the city around 2am on Saturday.
Police attached to the Regional Support Unit were on patrol in the area and were alerted to the shooting by a youth who ran from the house saying an ambulance was needed for Collopy, who had a partner and children.
He was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital where the decision was taken to turn off his life-support machine around 8.30pm on Sunday.
His younger brother Damien, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, was treated for shock.
Around six people were in the house when the incident occurred.
It is believed there drink and drugs were taken at the party.
It is understood that Collopy's two other brothers, Kieran and Ray, returned to Ireland from Spain to be at their brother's bedside.
Collopy was well known to police and wore a bulletproof vest when he took to the witness box at Limerick Circuit Court during the trial of Liam 'Baby' Kelly.
He told the court he needed to wear the vest due to the threat posed to his life by rival criminals.
'Sure, I get shot at every week,' he said. He added that there had been several attempts on his life in recent years.
Collopy had been a target of the Criminal Assets Bureau, which seized a €60,000 Toyota Landcruiser from him last year.
He had convictions for possession of a weapon, assault, escaping from custody and criminal damage.
Two years ago he received a 16-month suspended sentence for threatening to kill a man.
Collopy was jailed for two years in 2003 for possession of a weapon. The charge stemmed from a pitched battle between rival criminals outside a fast food restaurant in the city.