Ismail Abdi and Mohamed Salad front court over shooting

A Melbourne-based Australian champion drag boat racer came face-to-face in court with a man who shot him in the leg on his Middle Park doorstep.

Australian champion drag boat racer David Nairn was shot outside his Middle Park home while his wife Catherine Urie, pictured, and her daughter Claire Barnier were inside.

An Australian champion dragon boat racer shot in the leg in the front yard of his Middle Park home has told a court he hoped the two men responsible for the “cowardly” crime find the strength to turn their lives around.

Retired research engineer David Nairn, 76, was shot at close range after he stepped out of his doorway after hearing a knock on his door about 7.50pm on August 17, 2023.

Ismail Abdi and Mohamed Salad have pleaded guilty in the County Court to a charge of causing injury intentionally and the latter has also admitted to charges of possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.

The court heard on Tuesday that when Mr Nairn opened the door upon hearing a knock, he found no one outside and he then walked from his door step to the gate and checked on the letter box.

Mr Nairn noticed movement across the road before Abdi got out of a Hyundai and ran towards him with a cylindrical object in his right hand.

David Nairn’s Middle Park home where he was shot in the leg by Ismail Abdi.

Abdi pointed the object towards Mr Nairn’s left thigh, the latter heard an extremely loud bang and fell to the ground.

Mr Nairn’s wife Catherine Urie, who’s a GP, and her daughter Claire Barnier were at home and called an ambulance.

Mr Nairn read his victim impact statement in court and said he felt guilty opening the gate and letting trouble in the life of his family.

He said the bullet damaged a nerve that supplied the lower leg and bottom foot with sensation and control.

For months, he said there were no signals from the brain to the left foot and it prompted him to walk with a strap to his leg.

“Mr Abdi and Mr Salad deserve punishment for a cowardly, careless and stupid act. I have little anger towards them. I hope they find the strength to turn their lives around,” Mr Nairn said, as he turned towards the two men.

Blood stains of David Nairn who was shot in the leg after he came to answer a door bell at his Middle Park home.

He and his wife had plans to attend a family wedding in Perth in September, 2023 and for him to compete in the Sarawak Dragon Boat Regatta in Malaysia a month later.

In her victim impact statement, Dr Urie said the initial reaction to the shooting was that of shock and disbelief that this could happen to her husband in their home.

She was unable to work for about 10 days and having to leave their home later in the evening as it was a crime scene was very stressful, she said.

“It meant finding somewhere to stay at short notice and being able to support my daughter Claire and her dogs before being able to visit David in hospital.”

Abdi and Salad will be sentenced at a later date.