Police fear Dublin may have just witnessed its first Facebook murder as they trawl through taunts on the social networking site.

Darren Cogan was shot dead at the Black Horse Inn pub in the suburb of Inchicore in the early hours of Saturday morning – just minutes after police had left the premises.

The 22-year-old was gunned down after two masked men burst into the pub yielding a shotgun and a handgun.

Detectives believe he may have been killed after taunts relating to the hit were left on Facebook.

According to the Evening Herald, police are now carrying out a detailed trawl of Facebook to trace vital information about the latest gangland killing.

Sources have told the Herald that the chief suspects are Crumlin based criminals connected to a notorious Dublin drugs gang.

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The gunmen ran through the bar screaming: “Where’s the rats?”

Local police believe Cogan was shot dead in an ongoing row between two feuding factions.

A source told the Herald: “There was a row in a pub some weeks ago which then escalated when taunts and threats were being made on Facebook.

“In one instance, a close female associate of Mr Cogan had a fake Facebook account set up in her name by the rival faction which caused huge tensions in the area because it was being used to taunt people.

“Police are trawling through Facebook to see what the various factions are saying about the murder - this may yield important information.”

Cogan was due to give evidence in an upcoming trial and police believe that may be linked to his death.