Terrifying moment shots fired at Pascoe Vale home
Dramatic footage has captured the moment a teen allegedly fired an assault rifle into a Pascoe Vale home amid an escalating war between rival gangs.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Dramatic footage shows the moment a teenager allegedly fired an SKS assault rifle into a home in a terrifying shootout among warring youth gangs in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Murtada “Monty” Alessawi, 18, is accused of firing more than 20 rounds from the semiautomatic rifle into a rival’s Heather St home in Pascoe Vale in the early hours of June 14.
Five bullets travelled almost 1km, peppering the homes of innocent people in Coburg North.
Police said it was a miracle no-one was caught in the crossfire.
It is alleged the shooting was part of escalating gun violence between two groups of friends.
Detective Senior Constable Madeleine Huggins, from Victoria Police’s Armed Crime Squad told Melbourne Magistrates Court there had been eight shootings in the northern suburbs since February linked to the ongoing dispute.
She opposed Mr Alessawi’s bid for bail, fearing more shooting attacks if he was to return to the streets.
“Mr Alessawi is a member of one of these groups who are causing all this,” Senior Constable Huggins told the court.
“It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.”
The CCTV, obtained exclusively by the Saturday Herald Sun and played in court, showed two masked men, who police allege is Mr Alessawi and his co-accused Jaidyn Snowball, running from a car armed with guns towards a bush outside the Heather Ave home.
Mr Alessawi, from Epping, allegedly brandished the loaded SKS assault rifle, while Mr Snowball is accused of having a black pistol.
But an unidentified person inside the targeted house knew they were there and started firing at them first.
The court heard the pair sheltered behind a vehicle on the street before firing back.
A shot allegedly fired by Mr Alessawi narrowly missed his co-accused, Senior Constable Huggins said.
Most of the bullets struck a bungalow at the back of a house where a young man known to police was residing on parole.
Five other bullets were found in two houses 900m away.
“This offence was brazen, planned out,” Senior Constable Huggins said.
“It was lucky no innocent people were killed.”
The court heard the men were under surveillance by police, who quickly called in the shooting, allowing heavily-armed members of the tactical Special Operations Group to swoop.
They were arrested allegedly fleeing the scene in their van some 30 seconds later on Sussex St, near the corner of Boundary St.
The SKS assault fire, valued at $20,000 on the black market, was found in the vehicle.
A third man, Hady Al Harbiah, has also been charged for plotting the shooting.
The court heard the hit was meant to take place the night before, with secret police bugs inside Mr Al Harbiah’s vehicle recording him giving Mr Alessawi a crash course in how to fire a gun.
Senior Constable Huggins said the pair discussed how to engage the safety mechanism before Mr Al Harbiah could be heard repeatedly racking the firearm.
Mr Alessawi repeatedly mentioned “not wanting to get pinched” and was concerned about being captured on CCTV and needing to change his clothes, Det Huggins said.
They later aborted the mission on hearing police sirens.
Senior Constable Huggins had little knowledge of the motive behind the shootings with all the parties involved remaining mute.
She said the young men “are just groups that don’t like each other”.
The court heard Mr Alessawi and Mr Snowball have also been charged over an armed home invasion on a lawyer’s home in Narre Warren a month earlier on May 13.
Footage captured them kicking in the front door while armed with a silver revolver about 9.27pm.
Mr Alessawi is charged with a series of offences including reckless conduct endangering life and possessing a firearm with criminal intent.
Despite police’s concerns, magistrate Ross Maxted granted bail, citing Mr Alessawi’s youth, lack of priors, family support, employment and delays in any trial proceeding.
Mr Maxted was also comforted by the fact the SKS firearm had been seized.
He ordered strict bail conditions including that Mr Alessawi not associate with his co-accused,
Mr Snowball and Mr Al Harbiah remain on remand.
All three will next appear in court in October.
Coward punch thug to spend years in jail for vicious Southbank attack
A man who dealt a catastrophic coward punch to his victim during a cocaine-fuelled night out looked at his loved ones in disbelief after learning he would spend years behind bars.
Read more
‘She was preyed upon’: Mushroom victim’s family demand answers
Rachael Dixon’s grieving parents have spoken for the first time since their daughter’s death, alleging a trusted friend took advantage of her at a health retreat in regional Victoria.
Read more