Father of Olympic & world champion boxer Katie Taylor among those shot outside Irish boxing club

Father of boxing world champion Katie Taylor, Pete, was among two people injured while a third was shot dead in an early-morning shooting at Bray Boxing Club on the outskirts of Dublin.

Taylor, a boxing coach, is the father and former trainer of Olympic and world champion boxer Katie Taylor. It is understood that the 57-year old suffered a gunshot wound to his chest, while a second man, 35, was shot three times in the leg.

A third man, 30, died at the scene from his injuries. Pat Ward, an Irish police superintendent, confirmed that the injuries suffered by the two survivors are not thought to be life-threatening.

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The shooting took place at approximately 6.55am local time while a number of local fighters were in the facility for training. Katie Taylor, one of the most successful amateur boxers in recent history, trained out of the gym at the outset of her career but was training in the United States at the time of the shooting.

Initial reports from the scene suggest that a single gunman entered the club and opened fire, before escaping in a Volkswagen Caddy with Northern Irish license plates.

Bray Boxing Club was set up a number of years ago by Pete Taylor and underwent a $350,000 upgrade in 2014 to make it one of the premier boxing clubs in Ireland.

Local resident Anthony Connor told the Irish Times that he heard a wave of gunfire shortly before 7am.

“I heard a load of shots, maybe six or seven shots,” he said, adding that he saw an injured man stumble out of the club shortly before police and paramedics arrived on the scene.

“It was alarming, you don’t wake up and think you’re going to have a triple shooting here in Bray,” he said.

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Katie Taylor is an Olympic gold medalist from the London games in 2012, as well as a five-time amateur world champion and six-time European champion. She is currently the IBF and WBA world champion after just nine bouts in the professional ranks.