Three injured after gun, axe attack in Blacktown, Sydney’s west
Three men are in hospital after a violent home invasion, where two men were shot and one man was hit in the head with an axe, in western Sydney. Detectives, who say the home invasion was not random, are investigating whether it was drug related.
Three men are in hospital after a violent home invasion, where two men were shot and one man was hit in the head with an axe, in western Sydney. Detectives, who say the home invasion was not random, are investigating whether it was drug related.
Emergency services were called to Blacktown at 5am after nearby residents heard gunshots.
At the home, officers found one man with a gunshot wound to the thigh and another man with head injuries, believed to be caused by an axe.
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Both of these men were taken to the Westmead Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Officers chased a man who was running away from the back of the home.
The 33-year-old was holding a firearm before being shot by officers in the wrist.
He was also taken to Westmead Hospital where he remains under police guard.
Another man was also arrested nearby and taken to Blacktown Police Station for questioning.
NSW Police Critical Incident team will now investigate all the circumstances surrounding the incident including the discharge of an officer’s gun.
Neighbour Chris Naidoo witnessed the incident unfold over his back fence, saying he heard screaming coming from inside the house before seeing the alleged home invader who had been shot in the wrist by police at the rear of the property.
“I heard loud noises, a bang, like someone hitting against a wall or something, then I heard someone shout out — I think the guy who got hit on the head with the axe,” Mr Naidoo said.
After hearing the commotion, Mr Naidoo went outside and saw the man who had been shot in the wrist and also his alleged accomplice running away across the street.
“We were scared, I didn’t know what was happening,” Mr Naidoo said.
“I thought they were fighting among themselves, that’s why I didn’t want to intervene. Next minute I hear a gunshot, I run to the back and then I saw a guy on the floor on the back veranda. He was (moving) up and down, up and down, the cops were getting him on the floor, he said ‘I haven’t got nothing, I haven’t got nothing’. Then when I came outside, I saw a guy running across the street, I called to the policeman and said ‘there’s a guy running there’, they got him after.”
The other alleged home invader who ran away was later arrested by police.
One resident said he often saw cars coming and going from the house.
The police union say two violent offenders today have highlighted the everyday dangers officers endure.
Officers in Blacktown and Glendale were required to shoot at armed men this morning.
The Blacktown man suffered injuries to his wrist while the Glendale man died.
Police Association of NSW President Tony King said the shootings were a reminder officers put their lives on the line every day.
“The police in both of these situations were forced to act quickly in order to ensure the safety of themselves and the community,” he said.
“They have to make life and death decisions in a split second … the police involved in these incidents now have to live with the trauma of the event forever.”
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