‘People don’t feel safe’: Locals stunned by Revesby double killing

In Revesby, in Sydney’s southwest, the locals are stunned. The shocking shooting death of two women has them reeling, and lamenting their suburb’s changed face.

It’s changed drastically from its post-World War II-roots of housing commission stock and war service homes – but the level of violence involved in the shocking shooting death of two women has left locals in Revesby rocked.

Retired firefighter Peter Aitkin and his wife Annette have lived in Revesby for over 20 years, and say the demographic has changed and it isn‘t the safe haven it once was.

“It is a family oriented suburb, yes, but you‘ve only got to look at the cameras on everyone’s houses to realise people don’t feel safe,” Mr Aitkin said.

Despite his concerns, Mr Aitkin said there was instances of violence “no matter where you live” in Sydney.

“We’ve got no worries about living here at all, we realise that everywhere in Sydney there’s violence, no matter where you live,” he said.

On Saturday night, the double shooting drama unfolded right on Peter and Annette Aitkin’s driveway. Picture: Picture: Richard Dobson

Business owners plying their trade just several hundreds metres away from where the murders were committed were reluctant to speak on the record due to fears of retaliation, with one man even saying he “doesn’t need any unwanted business”.

A staff member at the nearby Revesby Workers’ Club said the suburb is usually very quiet, with the Saturday night shooting out of character for the area.

“It’s exceptionally rare, I’ve lived in Revesby for most of my life and it’s never happened in my time,” he said.

“It’s a family and retiree-oriented space, you’ll see kids playing on their bikes in the streets.”

Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour said the devastating shooting was a blow to the “strong community” of Revesby.

“They were young women and no one deserves to lose their life or be murdered in such a way, and my condolences to their families,” he said.

“It’s not something we want in our area because it distracts from the fact we’re a strong community down there.

Forensics police officers examine the scene of a burnt out car which was used in the fatal shootings of two women in Sydney's southwest. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

“I hope the police find the perpetrators and justice is served.”

East Hills MP Wendy Lindsay likewise said she was “shocked” at the news, adding: “I know police will throw all their resources at this to bring the killers to justice”.

\Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The latest stats from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research for the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area show jumps over the last five years in key crime categories, including a 21.1 per cent increase in assaults on police.

Cocaine trafficking incidents soared by 27.6 per cent in the same period.

The area has undergone intense development in recent years, with the quarter-acre blocks handed to returned war veterans in the 1940s giving way to an increase in duplexes and higher intensity development.

It’s a far cry from the post-World War II intensification in the suburb, where swathes of land was handed to returned soldiers as urban sprawl took hold, while housing commission homes were built in the suburb in the following decades.

Originally published as ‘People don’t feel safe’: Locals stunned by Revesby double killing