Gardaí investigating the hit and run killing of teenager Bryan Lowe last Friday have identified several suspects, including teenagers, and have carried out a number of searches.
The Irish Times understands the investigation has been progressing rapidly and that Garda search teams have moved on a number of addresses in the Limerick-Clare area, with operations ongoing on Wednesday.
While no arrests have been made, gardaí are working on a definite line of inquiry in relation to who was in the vehicle that fatally hit the 17-year-old before fleeing the attack. It appears the effort to ram him off his e-bike was deliberate, though whether the driver intended to kill Lowe remains unclear.
A vehicle, which was found partially burnt out last Saturday, now forms part of the inquiry. However, while that car has been linked to members of a criminal group in Limerick, gardaí do not believe the owner of the car was involved in the fatal ramming and hit and run.
All of the resources of a homicide inquiry have been committed to the Garda’s investigation into the killing. Detectives believe the driver of the car knew the 17-year-old and had followed and then deliberately rammed him off his electric-powered bike near Clonlara village.
Gardaí suspect that Lowe sent messages to at least one person last Friday night expressing concerns for his safety before the fatal incident.
The deceased’s phone records form part of the Garda inquiry, with the investigation team seeking to study messages sent to see if he wrote anything about who might be following him and why.
At this stage, gardaí are working on the hypothesis that the ramming of Lowe off his e-bike was deliberate and that it was not a conventional crash.
In a post on Facebook, the victim’s mother, Crystal Lowe, said she was “heartbroken and traumatised” that her son had died alone. She said she believed her son was “followed” from the Corbally area to Clonlara before his death.
There had been an interaction between the occupants of the silver/gold Skoda Octavia, registration 05-C-5982, and Bryan Lowe earlier on Friday.
Gardaí believe the teenager was later followed by the driver and rammed off his bike before being dragged under the vehicle for a time at Cottage Cross, near Clonlara village, at 11pm.
Bryan Lowe, from Westbury, Corbally, and Clonlara, was treated by paramedics after the incident, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
The partially burnt-out Skoda was found in the Castleconnell area on Saturday morning. Though it was damaged by fire, gardaí are hopeful it may still yield some forensic evidence.
St Munchin’s College offered its sympathies to the teenager’s family and schoolfriends.
“Bryan should be looking ahead to his Leaving Certificate, to his future and to all the possibilities that lay before him. Instead, we are coming together to mourn one of our students whose life has been taken far too soon,” said deputy principal Lorraine Shiels.