A man is being treated in hospital after an armed robbery and hijacking at a petrol station in County Laois overnight.
The incident occurred at around 12:30am at the Emo Filling Station in Mountrath, near Abbeyleix.
A masked man entered the Filling Station in the early hours of this morning and threatened a staff member with a gun.
He made off with a quantity of cash - but subsequently crashed his getaway car outside a house in Derrykearn.
When the occupants of the house checked the well-being of the driver, a shot was fired.
The suspect then fled in a second car, allegedly stolen from the occupants of the house, but again collided with a tree approximately one-and-a-half kilometres from the original collision.
The suspect was removed to Tullamore General hospital where he is described as being in a serious condition.
Investigations are on-going.
