By Nino Bucci
An armed robber shot dead by police after pointing a sawn-off shotgun at a bottle shop owner was being tracked by the force at the time he was killed.
The 48-year-old was shot on Sunday night amid an armed crime squad investigation into recent bottle shop robberies.
Bottle shop owner Sean Wang letting in the forensic cleaners in Park Orchard where a man with a sawn-off shotgun was shot by police.Credit: Simon Schluter
The police investigating the robberies are understood to have been the first officers on the scene at Park Orchards, in Melbourne's outer north-east.
Police Minister Lisa Neville confirmed the man had been tracked by the armed squad earlier that night, and he was suspected of further offences.
The bottle shop in Park Orchards. Credit: Simon Schluter
The senior constable who shot the man is understood to have been a member of the armed crime squad, and is believed to have fired at least four times.
"They were in the right place at the right time," Ms Neville told radio 3AW.
Police were unable to confirm how many robberies were suspected of being linked to the man, or two other men, a 49-year-old and a 50-year-old, who were arrested shortly after the shooting.
The robberies are believed to have been largely committed at small independent liquor stores, such as that targeted on Sunday.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Ross Guenther​ said officers were in the area as part of the ongoing investigation, but that he did not believe they had anticipated the Park Orchards store would be hit.
He said the officer shot the man after he pointed the gun at the business owner.
It is understood police are investigating whether the same group had targeted another store in the past week.
It is believed the men could be linked to robberies dating back to the start of December.
The owner of the Park Orchards store, Xueqiang "Sean" Wang, would not comment on how long it was before police arrived at the store, or whether he or his son, Kevin, who was at the rear of the store, had called police.
The length of time between the man entering the bottle shop and police arriving, and when officers were dispatched to the shop, will be vital to the coronial investigation, as it may determine whether the incident could have been prevented.
Mr Wang has been targeted "a few" times before, he said, including when a man with a machete grabbed him by the arm before fleeing a little more than a year ago.
But never has he had a call this close, when he was confronted just after closing.
"I'm a lucky man," said Mr Wang. "I thank Victoria Police. I so thank them."
The two men arrested after the incident remained in custody on Monday night, but are expected to be charged.
Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana said on Monday that the officer involved in the shooting had the force's support.
"Any member that's been involved in a situation like this goes through a lot of trauma," he said
"These are very dynamic, high-risk situations."
It is believed to be the first fatal police shooting in Victoria since September 2016, when a man driving a stolen car rammed an officer against a wall and was shot dead.
The case is being investigated by the homicide squad and professional standards command.
with Joe Hinchliffe, Ebony Bowden