TWO Irish men shot in a bowling alley in the US were under armed police guard in a New York hospital this weekend, despite only being charged with a minor public order offence.

Gerard Hourigan and Justin Donaghy (both 29) were gunned down by a security guard after allegedly refusing to stop smoking inside the venue. According to reports from the US, the two men were shot by former corrections officer Michael Iavecchio (54) after a physical confrontation broke out between all three.

However, sources close to the investigation have said that there have been no witnesses to the incident and the only CCTV footage to capture it has been seized by police.

"That [version of events] is alleged. There has been no eyewitness to say there was a struggle and the video tape that they say exists has not been released," said the source. "They are only going by hearsay, no one has come forward."

If convicted on minor charges of 'menacing' it is unlikely the men – who have no criminal records in Ireland or the US – would face jail time.

Hourigan and Donaghy, from Limerick and Meath respectively, remain in police custody and face the prospect of being arraigned in their hospital beds, a move that would require a judge to attend their wards.

The men's families – both are married to American women – have been asked not to comment on the case as there are criminal charges pending for all parties.

Hourigan and Donaghy had been on a night out with their wives at the bowling alley in Queens, New York on Saturday last when the incident took place.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, the men's lawyer James Patrick Delaney said the only reason they were under armed police guard in their beds was because they had not yet been arraigned on charges of menacing.

"That's only because they are in hospital; if this was a normal situation they would have been arraigned within 24 hours," he said.

"They may be arraigned or get a desk appearance ticket at the hospital which is generally when something is not so serious. They might be arraigned in hospital but to do that you would have to have a judge there – that is their right."