Melton haunted house shooting: Elvis Shabani jailed for firing Magnum .357 at strangers
Four friends who wanted to check out the local “haunted house” got the fright of their lives when a fed-up vigilante armed with a high-powered revolver chased them through the streets of Melton.
North West
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A hothead vigilante armed with a high-powered handgun pursued and shot at four strangers after they stopped outside his mother’s Kurunjang home, a court has heard.
Elvis Shabani chased the four young friends from the Thrice Lane home just before 1am on October 18, 2018.
The friends had been there to visit the neighbourhood “haunted house”
Shabani – who claimed to have called police to complain about “hooting” – shone a torch at their car.
The friends drove off but Shabani – armed with a loaded .357 Magnum revolver – followed them into Melton.
Shabani fired two shots at his victims as they drove through a roundabout at Centenary Ave and Palmerston St.
A single bullet hit the car.
The “terrified” victims sped off but Shabani chased their car through Melton.
The friends alerted police who arrested Shabani in his car about 15 minutes later.
Officers found the reloaded gun in the centre console of Shabani’s car.
Shabani told police the gun was for “personal protection” but he also said he was frustrated with “people making noise” and “beeping car horns”.
He also claimed hearing a “loud bang” which reminded him of when he and his brother were shot.
Police charged Shabani but he was released on bail.
Shabani was arrested about seven months later after he was nabbed doing 160km/h in a 60km/h zone.
He was also caught with $10,000 cash and loaded .38 revolver.
He served six months for those offences and his bail for the Melton shooting was revoked.
Shabani, 38, was sentenced in the County Court on December 12 to a minimum two years and six months’ prison after pleading guilty to recklessly engaging in conduct which placed people at risk of death and carrying a loaded firearm in a public place.
Judge John Smallwood said dismissed Shabani’s claim the gun was for personal protection.
“The situation is clear that after you had fired those two shots at these young people … you must have taken the time to fully reload the gun and one can only have one’s suspicions about what that might have all been about,” he said.
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“What you told the police was that it was frustration at police not attending when someone had been making noise and beeping their car horn.
“You have clearly aimed at the car with a very powerful gun that could have easily killed one or more of the people within it.
“Having done that, rather than back off you then endeavoured to pursue them and reloaded.
“I would have thought (your victims) found this a very terrifying experience and (the driver) certainly is still suffering from the consequences of it.”
Shabani, who had spent 25 days in custody at the time of sentencing, was jailed for a maximum four years.