There should be more to come out about this story than simple revenge for the Lawlor killing. I'm from West Belfast and the St James area, where Crossan was killed, is not an area where hitmen from Dublin would run around and gun someone down in broad daylight.
Crossan's father Tommy was killed a number of years ago, an alleged dispute within the CIRA. However around the same time Warren was shot in a punishment style shooting and suffered leg wounds, most likely due to involvement with drugs. Whilst the RIRA may have links to drugs I would be pretty certain the CIRA does not, they're a hard-line offshoot of the mainstream PIRA from the 1980s and have very socialist, Marxist leanings.
Warren's attackers are most likely local, which would suggest dissident republicans such as the RIRA, however they are unlikely to be working at the behest of drug gangs from Dublin due to their own feud with the Kinahans over the past number of years. Which is why I believe there is something greater at play. Because of the paramilitaries within Northern Ireland we have been relatively immune from Dublin's drug problems, hopefully that doesn't change.
