The man had wrongly assumed the teenager and his friends had tried to steal a bike and opened fire from just four feet away, hitting Nathan in the lower back.

A number of pellets were lodged close to the boy's heart but did not pierce the organ. He is in a stable condition in Beaumont Hospital, but it is expected that he will suffer permanent difficulties because of the attack, which left him with a large amount of gunshot pellets lodged in his stomach.

A 36-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were arrested in connection with the shooting and a file is to be sent to the DPP.

The 36-year old is a close relative of the man suspected of murdering Mark Byrne (31), the Tallaght man who was shot dead just eight minutes after being granted temporary release from Mountjoy Prison in May 2005.