By Catherine Naylor
A man is fighting for his life and another two people are seriously injured but stable in hospital after they were shot while sitting in their cars in what police have said was “a targeted attack” early on Sunday morning.
Police said the victims were sitting in their parked cars in Mayvic Street, Greenacre, when they were hit about 2.15am by gunfire.
Bullet holes in the car window of one of the vehicles in Greenacre.Credit: Edwina Pickles
A 25-year-old man was found with head wounds in one vehicle, and a 22-year-old man and 19-year-old woman were injured in another.
The younger man, who was found with neck wounds, was in a critical condition throughout the day on Sunday but his condition improved by Sunday evening. The other man continued on life support while the teenage woman remained stable.
On Sunday morning, police in forensic suits were photographing two cars on Mayvic Street that each had what appeared to be bullet holes in the driver windows.
The cars – a Toyota sedan and a Mazda hatchback – were parked about 50 metres away from each other on the same side of the street, which is in an industrial part of Greenacre.
Nearby residents were shocked to hear about the shooting and said the industrial area, which backs on to a railway line, was usually a “ghost town”.
Police said they did not know if the victims were known to each other, nor the type of guns used in the shooting.
“We are trying to establish what both parties were doing in that location,” Superintendent Simon Glasser said.
“The investigation is in its infancy, but we do believe it was a targeted attack.”
About five minutes after the shooting, a vehicle was also reported alight in nearby Regents Park. Police are investigating whether the two incidents are linked. They are also looking at whether the shooting is related to gang-related crime in Sydney.
“It’s certainly an avenue for our investigation, however at this early stage there is no direct link to anything ongoing,” Glasser said when asked about links to gangland crime.
“It’s a very serious offence, people shooting at people. It could have resulted in a death at this stage and it still may.
“This morning police will be concentrating on canvassing, looking for CCTV, trying to identify any witnesses that may have seen something to try and piece it all together.”
Crime scenes have been established in Greenacre and Regents Park, where the vehicle fire also damaged a fence, a tree and another car in a parking lot behind the suburb’s main shopping strip.
Detectives are appealing for anyone who was near either location between 2am and 2.30am and has information or dashcam vision they believe to be relevant to contact Auburn police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
with Angus Dalton
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