'Mam, mam, he has a gun' - Sisters recall terror of seeing gunmen at Christmas steakhouse shooting
An eyewitness said gunman Tristan Sherry was disarmed and attacked by a group using 'savage levels of violence'
Two sisters have described to the Special Criminal Court the "terrifying" moment when they took shelter under a hail of gun fire at the busy steakhouse where they were working last Christmas Eve as a masked attacker shot a man dead before being beaten to death.
Adisa Ajredini told the court that she dragged her mother, who also worked at the steakhouse, under a table to shelter after hearing what she thought was machine-gun fire. Her sister Amanda said she fled as she believed the gunman was going to shoot everyone in the restaurant.
The sisters were giving eyewitness testimony on Monday in the trial of three men accused of murdering gunman Tristan Sherry, 26, and three others accused of violent disorder arising from the same incident.
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In her opening speech last week, prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC said that Jason Hennessy Snr and a group of people had gathered in the busy Browne's Steakhouse in Blanchardstown for Christmas Eve. Sherry and a second man entered with their faces covered and hoods up and moved towards the party before Sherry shot and fatally wounded Mr Hennessy Snr.
Ms Murphy said Sherry was promptly disarmed and attacked by a group using "savage levels of violence" involving kicking, stamping and striking with various objects, including chairs.
Amanda Ajredini told Ms Murphy that she was working at the bar in Browne's on Christmas Eve while her mother and sister were working on the floor. There was a large party of about 30 people booked into an area towards the back of the restaurant.
Shortly after the large party had begun to arrive, she remembered two people entering the restaurant. She focussed on one of the men, who she said was "really tall" and wearing gloves and a balaclava. The only skin she could see was around his eyes. She said she was "confused" and "didn't know what to think" but as the man walked past her, she noticed he was holding a gun behind his back. It wasn't a pistol, she said, and he needed two hands to hold it.
She said she screamed: "Mam, mam, mam, he has a gun," because she knew her mother was somewhere in the restaurant, but couldn't see her. The witness said she closed her eyes and when she heard the gunshots she thought the gunman was going to shoot everyone so she ran to the kitchen area. After two to three minutes, she went back inside to find her mother.
The witness agreed with defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC that the large party included a number of "quite small kids" and they had not been there long when the gunmen arrived. She said it was "completely terrifying".
Adisa Ajredini told Ms Murphy that she was working in the section where the large party had gathered. She saw a "tall and chubby" man wearing all black, with a balaclava over his face and his hood up walking fast with his hands behind his back "almost like he was marching". She knew from the way he was dressed that he was "there to hurt someone" and when she heard her sister shouting for their mother, she became afraid.
She saw the man walking towards her mother and then she heard shots fired from what sounded to her like a machine gun. She estimated that she heard 20 shots before seeing her mother "crawling and seeking shelter". She pulled her mother under a table and they sheltered together for about five minutes, listening to people "screaming and smashing things".
When she noticed other people leaving, she went to get her phone to call emergency services. She could see that the restaurant was "wrecked" and noticed the man in black who had walked past her earlier lying on the ground surrounded by blood.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo, Judge Elma Sheahan and Judge James Faughnan. Three men are currently on trial charged with the murder of Tristan Sherry on 24 December, 2023 at Browne’s Steakhouse, Main Street, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.
They are Noah Musueni, 18, Corduff Park, Blanchardstown, David Amah, 18, Hazel Grove, Portrane Road, Donabate, Dublin and Michael Andrecut, 22, Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown. Jonas Kabangu, 18, Corduff Park, Blanchardstown and 18-year-old Diarmuid O'Brien of Corduff Place, Blanchardstown, are charged with violent disorder at the same location on that date. Brandon Hennessy, 21, of Sheephill Avenue, Dublin 15 - the son of Jason Hennessy Snr - is also charged with violent disorder.
All the accused have pleaded not guilty.
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