Macchour Chaouk shot dead in backyard of family home in Brooklyn, man arrested
UPDATE 8.08pm: HOMICIDE detectives have arrested a man following the shooting death of Macchour Chaouk this morning.
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UPDATE 8.08pm: HOMICIDE detectives have arrested a man following the shooting death of Macchour Chaouk this morning.
A 57-year-old man was arrested tonight at a house in Altona North, police said.
He is assisting police with their investigation.
Police officers, including forensics and homicide squad detectives, remain at the scene of the shooting on the corner of Cypress Ave and Geelong Rd in Brooklyn.
Investigators said earlier today they believed the shooting was not a random incident.
Mr Chaouk, 65, died after being shot in the backyard of his house this morning.
Several people tried to resuscitate him before paramedics arrived after 11am, but he died at the scene.
At about 12.45pm, up to 12 heavily armed Special Operations Group officers stormed the Chaouk home.
A heavily fortified police vehicle stopped at the front of the property moments before the SOG team stormed the house, yelling as they entered through the front door.
Officers were seen searching an upstairs bedroom before leaving the premises just three minutes later.
Family and friends of the Chaouks have gathered outside the house throughout the day, with some hurling abuse at the waiting media.
Three children, aged 1, 3 and 5, who were inside the house when the shooting occurred, were taken to a different location.
A group of young men including Macchour's son Omar, 19, stood outside the house in the aftermath of the shooting as police, including force response units and Santiago detectives, scoured the scene.
At one stage, Omar walked up Geelong Rd to greet a friend who exclaimed: “Who the f--- shot him?”.
Ambulance Victoria received a call to the house at 10.54am and found a man at the scene performing CPR on the victim.
When it was safe for paramedics to approach the house, they confirmed the man was dead at the scene.
Witnesses in the area said they heard a volley of shots, described as “rapid fire”.
Macchour and his two sons, Walid, 36, and Omar, were arrested at the same house during a series of police raids in July, in which police seized guns, ammunition and blank passports.
The home was also the scene of the shooting death of Mohamed Chaouk, 31, who was killed by police during a dawn raid in 2005.
The Chaouk family has allegedly been embroiled in a feud with a rival Lebanese family from Melbourne's north, the Haddaras.
Their home was raided after a drive-by shooting in June in nearby Altona, in which Sam Haddara, 18, was shot in the face while sitting in a car.
Sam is a cousin of Mohamed Haddara, who was killed a year earlier in a drive-by shooting, and there have been a series of alleged tit-for-tat violent incidents between the families.
Police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au
- with AAP
View Shots fired in Brooklyn, Melbourne's west in a larger map
