New photograph of Carlow shooter released as gardaí vow to keep investigating

A new photograph of the young man responsible for the shooting incident in Carlow last weekend has been released as gardaí continue their investigation.

Gardaí in Carlow say they continue to investigate "all circumstances" surrounding the discharge of a firearm and the death of a man in his 20s following an incident at Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow, on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

A postmortem examination has been completed, the results of which are not being released for operational reasons, a Garda statement confirmed.

The horror incident occurred shortly after 6:15pm on Sunday when a young man armed with a gun fired a shot into the air before being confronted by armed gardaí. The man - named locally as 22-year-old Evan Fitzgerald - died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.

ABOVE: 22-year-old Evan Fitzgerald 

Gardaí are continuing to appeal for witnesses to this incident.

"Anyone present at Fairgreen Shopping Centre between approximately 6:00pm and 6:30pm on Sunday, 1st June 2025 is asked to contact the incident room at Carlow Garda Station," they said in their latest statement.

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"Anyone with information is asked to contact Carlow Garda Station at 059 9136620 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666111."

Pure chaos

A witness from the scene told Carlow Live this week that the scene outside the Fairgreen Shopping Centre was "pure chaos" as people ran from the shots.

They say people around the area were confused at what the first gun shot was and the general atmosphere at the time was "confusion."

"But after the second shot, that's when people started to suspect something and panic started to break out," they added.

" There was definitely a lot of panic. I don't think it's something people are used to in the area. But yeah, the main, main emotion was definitely panic and distress," they continued.

"There were people sprinting in all directions, people jumping into cars, grabbing pets, children, anything they could, and just getting out of the area as quick as possible. It was pure chaos."

During the event, the witness describes the emotions they felt personally: “ Nervousness, a bit of panic as well. I think that was further amplified by the crowd's panic. But afterwards it definitely leaves an unsettling nervous feeling.”

READ MORE: 'It was pure chaos' - Carlow shooting witness describes panic as gunshots rang out

Describing the feeling that has been left for not only people who were in the immediate vicinity of the incident but of the general population of Carlow, the witness says: "The fact that we're not used to any of that stuff or you wouldn't expect it, makes it a little bit worse.

“It was a big shock to everybody, I think. The best word to use is shell-shocked. I was shell-shocked personally, and I think a lot of the town would be in the same boat.