‘Terrifying’: up to 100 shots fired on suburban street
Jack Gramenz and Melissa Meehan |
A man is under police guard in hospital after allegedly firing up to 100 shots at police and cars in a “serious and terrifying” incident that injured multiple people.
The shots rang out over an almost two-hour window between 7.45pm and 9.30pm on Sunday at Croydon Park, in Sydney’s inner west.
Streets were closed and the area was locked down after reports that a man was indiscriminately firing at traffic, including police cars, travelling along Georges River Road.
Described as an “active shooting situation” by NSW police, tactical officers later arrested a 60-year-old man from a unit above a business along the busy road.
He is yet to be charged and remains under police guard at Bankstown Hospital.
Body-worn cameras from police showed how close officers came to being hit as they took cover during the “serious and terrifying incident”.
“You can hear numerous gunshots, and certainly impact, not too far from the camera,” NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told Sydney radio 2GB on Monday.
One of the officers shot at had only been out of the academy for five weeks, Mr Lanyon said.
Two rifles were seized from the unit after the man’s arrest.
A taxi driver in his 50s remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital with wounds to his neck and head.
Paramedics treated 16 people at the scene for minor injuries, some of whom were injured by shattered glass as windows were shot out and others who were treated for shock.
A motive for the shooting is yet to be determined but Mr Lanyon said there was no known link to any terrorism or gang activity.
Acting Superintendent Stephen Parry said the scene was secured “fairly quickly” and praised the officers involved at a press conference late Sunday.
“They exhibited extreme levels of bravery in doing what they did,” he told reporters.
“They were under rapid fire gun shots on a number of occasions and should all be commended for their actions.”
He was unable to confirm whether officers also fired their weapons during the stand-off.
AAP
