Postmaster shot dead during Kilkenny robbery

Postmaster shot dead during Kilkenny robbery
The people of Kilkenny are in a state of shock this weekend after a well-known local businessman was shot dead by a robber who had just raided a sub-post office in the city. Shortly after noon on Friday, a man wearing a balaclava and carrying a handgun demanded money from the sub-post office at John's Green. A quantity of cash was handed to him and he left on foot.
Word of the incident was quickly relayed to the postmaster, Alan Cunniffe (32), who was in the adjacent Centra supermarket. He pursued the man along Wolfe Tone Street and caught up with him a short distance away at the Padmore & Barnes shoe factory and shop. There the raider turned and fired a single shot, hitting Mr Cunniffe in the stomach. Two doctors from a nearby surgery attended to the injured man immediately and, although an ambulance was quickly on the scene to transfer him to the city's St Luke's Hospital, Mr Cunniffe died during the afternoon.
Witnesses saw the robber continue along Wolfe Tone Street, crossing near the swimming pool where he entered the Peace Park which runs alongside the River Nore. Just before he reached Green's Bridge at the end of the park he was arrested by gardaí, who also recovered a gun and a sum of money. Those who saw the gunman say he was of "Chinese appearance".
Alan Cunniffe, a single man with a BSc from UCD and MSc from UCC, had recently taken over the management of the family-run Centra supermarket and sub-post office. He is survived by his mother Muriel, four brothers and three sisters; his father, Tom, died two years ago. By all accounts he was highly regarded in the local community.
At a special sitting of Kilkenny District Court on Sunday morning, Shu Shen of no fixed abode was charged with the robbery of €13,760 and with the murder of Mr Cunniffe. On Saturday one newspaper described the accused as a failed asylum seeker in his 20s.