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A 60-year-old man has been arrested after at least one person was shot, numerous people injured and multiple cars fired upon by a gunman in Sydney’s inner west.
As many as 100 shots rang out over a two hour window between 7.45pm and 9.30pm on Sunday night in Croydon Park.
Streets were closed and the area was placed in lockdown as police launched a major operation after reports a man was indiscriminately firing at motorists, including police cars, travelling along Georges River Road.
The tactical police unit was called in to arrest a 60-year-old man from a unit above a business along the busy road.
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Acting Supt Stephen Parry told reporters on Sunday night it was unclear exactly how many shots were fired “but there could have been anywhere between 50 and 100 shots that have been discharged”.
He said numerous vehicles and premises sustained gunshots and damage during the incident, but a clearer picture would be available in daylight.
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Parry said the scene was secured “fairly quickly” and praised the officers involved.
“They exhibited extreme levels of bravery in doing what they did,” he told reporters in a late-night press conference.
“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 standoff.
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said 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,” Lanyon told Sydney radio 2GB on Monday.
One of the officers shot at had only been out of the academy five weeks, Lanyon said.
A motive for the shooting was yet to be determined but Lanyon said there was no known link to any terrorism or gang activity.
Paramedics treated 16 people at the scene for minor injuries. Some were injured by shattered glass as their windows were hit by the bullets, and others were treated for shock.
A number of people were taken to hospital after being treated by paramedics.
A taxi driver in his 50s was in a serious but stable condition with wounds to his neck and head.
It was a matter of luck that more people weren’t hurt, the acting assistant commissioner Trent King said.
“It’s unprecedented for Sydney to have something like this, with such a large number of shots fired,” he told ABC radio on Monday.
“We’re very fortunate that we didn’t have more damage and certainly more injuries or indeed fatalities.”
King said it would have been terrifying for the general public and responding police officers. “What I can say is that those initial police were fired upon. We have damaged police vehicles and we’re very fortunate that no police have been injured.”
The 60-year-old man was under police custody in Bankstown hospital and was expected to be questioned and formally charged on Monday.
Firearms, including a high-calibre rifle, were seized during his arrest, police alleged.
One eyewitness to the shooting told the ABC he was driving by and “heard a bang, bang, bang on the left side of the car, the taxi”.
“And then I looked next to me, and I saw a couple of holes through the window right next to – on the passenger side,” he said.
“And I didn’t realise there was actually a hole on the roof as well. And I smelled the gunpowder, but I assumed because it was [NRL] grand final night, [it was] somebody throwing firecrackers or something.”
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