Mayo man fired shotgun after mistakenly thinking pizza delivery driver was a burglar

Jury returns guilty verdict to charge of reckless discharge of a firearm

A man fired a shotgun when he mistakenly thought a pizza delivery driver was a burglar.

Joseph Killeen, aged 50, of Knockroe, Mayo Abbey, appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court where he contested a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm.

Killeen admitted firing the shotgun twice but denied that his actions were reckless. A jury returned a guilty verdict.

Ramazan Korakus, the owner of Pizza Delight in Claremorris, told the court he received a pizza delivery order at 12.10am on November 26, 2023.

He said the restaurant would not usually deliver that late, but the customer was a regular.

Delivery driver Saif Dawould was dispatched to the house at Knockroe, Mayo Abbey.

Mr. Korakus said the driver called to tell him nobody was answering the door.

Mr. Dawould then called the driver a second time. He was crying and saying he had been shot at.

Mr. Korakus said when Mr. Dawould returned to the shop he was pale and shaken and gardaí were called.

The court heard Mr. Dawould no longer works as a pizza delivery driver.

Speaking though a Syrian-Arabic translator, Mr. Dawould said he rang the doorbell three times and when there was no answer, he knocked on the window of the property.

He could see a light on inside before a man opened a window and a long gun emerged.

Mr. Dawould said a shot was fired which he believed was very close to his head. He ran and hid behind his car.

He said while at his car he held up his delivery bag and shouted that he was there to make a pizza delivery.

“That’s when the second shot was fired,” said Mr Dawould.

The driver then fled the scene in his car.

The court heard Joseph Killeen was awoken by his brother Tom, with whom he lives, at around 1 a.m. on November 26, 2023.

His brother told him he thought burglars or ‘foreigners’ were outside the house and told Joseph to fire the gun to scare them off.

The court was told Joseph had two licenced shotguns in a cabinet in his bedroom.

Joseph contended that he fired one shot skywards out of the bedroom window.

He had only one cartridge in the gun and claimed he reloaded it and fired a second shot into the air as the delivery driver drove off in his vehicle.

He denied ever firing the gun in the direction of Mr Dawould. He had no idea that his brother Tom had earlier ordered a pizza as he was in bed at the time.

Tom Killeen told the court that he had been at a funeral in Balla and went for a few pints before returning home.

He rang for a pizza, but when he thought it wasn’t coming went to bed.

Tom awoke when he heard a voice outside. He wasn’t sure if there were one or two people there.

He had forgotten about the pizza order and woke his brother to tell him he feared there were intruders.

He said Joseph got the gun from the press and fired a warning shot into the air. He shot again as the car drove away.

Tom said the incident occurred inside a minute.

He went back to bed and it was only when gardaí arrived that he recalled the pizza and “it all sort of came together."

Gardai and members of the Armed Response Unit went to the property.

Jospeh came out of the house when requested to do so and gardaí later seized two shotguns and ammunition. Two empty shells were found on a windowsill.

Joseph was arrested and taken to Castlebar Garda Station. A planned 5 a.m. interview was suspended as the man had a “minor” amount of alcohol consumed.

When interviewed later that morning, he told officers he had no idea about the pizza order. He said there had been a lot of burglaries in the area and he thought there were burglars outside his home. Joseph said he fired the gun to “scare them off".

During the garda interview he stated he wanted to apologise to the delivery driver.

“I want to say sorry to the delivery driver. Had I known who it was I would not have fired the gun. I feel really sorry for the guy.”

Joseph told gardai that after firing the gun he made a cup of tea and smoked a cigarette. He waited up as he was afraid the person might return.

The accused said he considered ringing the gardaí but decided against it when he thought the person would not be coming back.

Barrister Diarmuid Connolly, representing Joseph Killeen, said the brothers were “mortified” by what happened.

“It was all a huge mistake, an embarrassing mistake, but a genuine mistake,” said Mr Connolly.

Joseph Killeen has one previous conviction which is of considerable vintage.

Following the jury’s verdict, Mr. Connolly sought a probation report for his client.

Judge Eoin Garavan adjourned sentencing until July 22.

(Funded under the Courts Reporting Scheme).