A 29-year-old man has been identified as one of two men shot dead at a Wyndham Vale home
The heartbroken father of one of the men gunned down in a Wyndham Vale gang-style shooting wants to know who killed his son.
Police & Courts
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The father of one of the men gunned down in a gang-style shooting in Melbourne’s western suburbs on Saturday says he wants to know who murdered his son.
Deng Atem said he was not aware of any commotion between his son and a group of unidentified men at his Wyndham Vale home before he was woken by gunfire about 2.30am.
“I woke up when there was shooting,” Mr Atem said.
“When Atem was going into the garage, people come – maybe they were parked around outside here (in Sladen St).”
“Atem couldn’t see them.
“They shot the dog and another boy inside the garage.
“Atem was already shot outside the house.”
The ambush left Atem Atem, 29, with fatal bullet wounds at his Carmichael Drive home.
He was one of the two men shot dead after the attackers arrived at the house in three cars.
Another man, 23, was seriously injured and was last in hospital.
Mr Atem said the other man killed and the man injured during the incident were his son’s friends.
Atem’s mother and two brothers were home at the time, with brothers Luka Atem and Mading Atem going outside to investigate a noise at the time of the incident.
It is understood the two brothers witnessed the unknown offenders shoot and kill Atem, as well as the family dog.
Homicide detectives were continuing to investigate the circumstances of the double murder.
A police spokesman said there were no arrests made on Sunday.
It was still not known whether a handgun, or handguns, were used by the assassins.
Police were also reviewing home security camera video of the attackers making their getaway.
It was almost certain that police would be guarding the man’s hospital room as he recovers.
Mr Atem said he was a “good boy’.
He said he wanted to know why his son was targeted by the killers and who was behind the attack.
“I want to know,” he said.
“I can’t do anything, it’s not good at all.”
Youth worker Les Twentyman said the attack was the worst gang incident in his decades working in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
“This is only going to escalate now that guns have entered the scene,” Mr Twentyman said.
“We’ve got a developing American-style gang situation.
“Shooting people is part of the culture in gang life. It’s a case of ‘you get me or I’ll get you’.”
“Absolutely (this is a gang shooting).”
Mr Twentyman said the violence required police with experience in gang policing.
“It’s the worst in Melbourne,” he said. “
The shooting of the dog staggers me. It seems the dog was shot dead because it was trying to protect its master.”
Police were likely to update the public on the progress of the double murder investigation on Monday.
‘I don’t think this is random’: police
Detective inspector Chris Murray on Saturday morning said the two men were keeping to themselves when three vehicles pulled up outside the property.
“There was a confrontation and two males were shot dead,” Detective Murray said.
The shooting is understood to have taken place in the garage of the home, with the three vehicles making a quick escape.
Detective Murray said there was a large group involved in the incident, suggesting that the attack could be gang-related.
“What I would say is that I don’t think this is random,” he said.
“I’d say that the community can be reassured of the fact that we will see a large police presence today and in the next coming days.”
Neighbours close to Carmichael Drive were woken to the sounds of people fighting and a loud “bang” early on Saturday.
Local resident Seema Nagpal said she heard a “sharp noise” at around 3:30am while she was in her lounge room praying.
“There were a lot of people, they were shouting a lot,” Ms Nagpal said.
She said that she heard multiple people outside arguing before there was a loud noise, which she described as something similar to a gunshot.
“I was scared too, so I turned on my outside lights in case someone came over the fence.”
Another neighbour, Michael Rowe, said that he heard a car speed off following the loud noise.
“I could hear a group of people and a car speeding off and that was it until I saw, a bit later, flashing lights outside,” Mr Rowe said.
Neighbour Cheyenne Spiteri told the Herald Sun that police have been called to the single storey red brick home multiple times in recent years, where it is believed a family with several children live.
Ms Spiteri said she heard several bangs, including one “loud bang” about 2.30am.
“It was all very quick. The first bang was super loud and then maybe five to 10 seconds later I heard a few more,” she said.
“Around five or 10 minutes later, I heard screaming again, and 10 minutes after that, I heard a helicopter.”
Ms Spiteri said police had visited the home approximately four times over the course of six or seven years, during which the same family had lived in the home.
Detective Murray said the events were absolutely tragic and support from the community was needed to apprehend the offenders.
“We can’t solve these investigations without their [the community] assistance, if you know something, say something,” he said.
Police are treating the deaths as suspicious and are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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