Gardaí believe a man shot dead in a middleclass suburb of Dublin was ambushed in a well planned attack by killers who had him under surveillance at the rented house he shared with his partner and two young children.

The killers crashed their stolen getaway vehicle less than 100 metres from the crime scene as they tried to escape.

They set it alight, destroying two other cars parked on the street, before making their escape on foot still wearing their balaclavas.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern was visiting a house on the street, Church Ave in Drumcondra, north Dublin, where the incident unfolded on Wednesday.

Mr Ahern’s childhood family home is on the road and his brother, former junior minister Noel Ahern, still lives there.

The dead man had not been named by the Garda on Thursday night but he was in his late 20s.

He had only minor convictions, for road traffic and public order offences, but was suspected of involvement in drug related organised crime.

Gardai believe he was linked to an Irish-led Spanish-based gang which has been supplying the Irish market with illicit drugs for more than a decade.

Those links are being probed as a possible motive for the murder.

He was gunned down the day after his release from a prison sentence.

Supt Finbar Murphy said gardaí were alerted to the shooting at 11.30am by members of the public who rang 999 to report hearing gunfire.

He appealed to others to come forward, saying gardaí at Ballymun station were especially keen to speak to anyone who may have seen the killers running from the scene still wearing balaclavas.

“There may have been more than two people involved, the investigation is still at an early stage,” he said.

“But two people were seen running from the scene; one in a grey jacket and one in a dark jacket, wearing balaclavas.

“They ran onto Gracepark Road and down towards Tolka Park and back in towards town.”

He said anybody who may have seen men in the area, perhaps keeping the victim’s home under surveillance for up to an hour or two before the killing, to come forward and aid the inquiry.

Gardai believe two gunmen got out of an Audi A3 and opened fire on him, fatally wounding him while he was still in his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The attackers then tried to speed away from the area but crashed their car into a wall on a curve in the road behind the All Hallows campus.

They then got out of the vehicle and set it on fire before running onto the nearby Gracepark Rd and towards Tolka Park.

The fire that destroyed the A3 also extensively damaged two cars parked nearby.

Gardaí believe the gunmen fired five shots and that they hadthe man under surveillance for some time and waited outside in their vehicle for over an hour.