Police say a family caught up in a series of western Sydney shootings overnight were from Victoria and were seeking “refuge” during a woman’s separation from her husband.
Police were called to Antwerp Street in Auburn shortly before 10pm, after reports shots had been fired into a home during a domestic incident.
Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said a couple in their 70s, their 50-year-old daughter, and her children, a 20-year-old man and 15-year-old girl, were inside at the time.
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He said the shooter, a 50-year-old man, was the 50-year-old woman’s husband of 23 years, and the father of the 20-year-old and 15-year-old.
“The family from Victoria and was seeking refuge for a short time, as part of a planned separation from her husband,” McFadden said.
The woman and her children had left Victoria in the past two to three weeks, but McFadden said the shooter had travelled up to Sydney very soon before the incident.
The 50-year-old man was “enraged” when he arrived, and smashed the front window of the home to force open the front door.
He pointed a handgun at the man in his 70s and pulled the trigger but the gun failed to fire.
He then pulled the trigger again, this time pointing at the woman in her 70s. This shot discharged but did not hit anybody.
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The shooter then fled the scene, trying to carjack a 56-year-old woman, who was able to drive away and report the incident to police.
At about 10.10 pm, police were called to Mona Street in Auburn after another shooting by the same man.
They were told a 55-year-old man sitting in his car with his 15-year-old daughter was confronted by an unknown man who fired a shot at him, hitting him in the neck.
He was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
During a search of the area, police found the body of a man on the bank of Duck Creek, Auburn, just after 2.15am.
A gun was also found at the scene and seized for forensic examination.
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McFadden confirmed the body was that of the 50-year-old man.
He said the man had last come to police attention in 1989-1990 in New South Wales, while police in Victoria had no interactions with the man for the past 10 years.
Police do not believe the man was licenced to carry the gun.
While the investigation is ongoing, the man’s death isn’t being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
There is no ongoing risk to the public.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.
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