Gardai are on high alert after the major escalation of a new feud in recent days.
The Irish Mirror can reveal a man in his late 20s was mown over by a Ford Transit van in a hit-and-run incident at Ardnacassa Avenue in Longford town at around 4.30pm on Monday.
It followed what locals believe was a shot being fired at a house nearby, although it was not reported to gardai.
Investigators are aware of footage of the hit-and-run and the reported gunfire.
Although the victim of the van attack was hit at high speed, he is recovering in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The latest feud to hit the Midlands kicked off in December after relatives in a Traveller family fell out.
A source said: “Often something relatively minor start these feuds.
“But the tension and escalation just builds and builds and they become personal very quickly.”
