By Marika Dobbin-Thomas and Carla Jaeger
A suspected gunman remains on the run after a 29-year-old man and a yet-to-be-identified woman were killed during a fight at a home on the Mornington Peninsula early on Monday morning.
Police were called after an altercation between a group of people inside a house in Parson Street, Rye, shortly after 4am.
Forensic officers at the scene on Monday. Credit: Jason South
When officers arrived, they found the man and woman with gunshot wounds. Emergency services tried to revive the pair, but they were declared dead at the scene.
“We are still working on the exact circumstances. However, it appears that a firearm or firearms have been discharged, and a man who lived at that property and the woman that attended that property were seriously injured,” Detective Superintendent Janet Stevenson told reporters on Monday afternoon.
“Emergency services did attend and gave medical assistance, but unfortunately, both of them passed away.”
A second man fled the scene and police are still trying to locate him.
Stevenson said the man who died had been identified as a 29-year-old from Rye who lived in the house. The woman arrived with the suspected gunman and is yet to be formally identified.
Homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify and locate the man they are seeking as well as identify the woman.
Stevenson expressed concern that the gun used in the shooting had not been found.
“We don’t know if there’s a firearm still outstanding, so we’re giving a lot of urgency around the apprehension of that male,” she said.
Police believe the alleged gunman and the woman who died knew the 29-year-old, and it was a targeted attack.
“Homicide squad detectives are keen to speak to anyone who may have information about the current whereabouts of the man or the identity of the woman involved,” police said in a statement.
It’s believed the 29-year-old was the sole tenant of the home and had lived there for just under a year.
One neighbour, who did not want to be named due to privacy concerns, said they woke to the sound of people yelling – which they initially thought was schoolies celebrations – followed by the sound of two gunshots at 4.07am.
Police placed witches hats and crime scene markers on the road on Monday.Credit: Jason Southth
The neighbour heard a police helicopter flying over the property about 45 minutes after the gunshots. About a dozen police cars had swarmed the street by 7am, the neighbour said.
Another neighbour said they heard a dog barking loudly around the time of the shooting.
They said police spent most of the morning doorknocking the surrounding streets of the quiet coastal neighbourhood, a popular summer holiday destination.
“It’s just shocking,” the neighbour said of the shooting.
Forensic police were at the three-bedroom house on Monday afternoon. Officers marked what appeared to be burnout marks on the gravel driveway and tyre marks on the street.
Police have urged anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Crime Stoppers.
Separately on Monday, police arrested and charged a man over the death of a man at South Melbourne on Friday.
Julian Savannah, 29, of Port Melbourne, appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court charged with a single count of murder.
The court heard police allege the victim – Hugh Brannan, 30 – was stabbed multiple times and that DNA analysis and other forensic testing were yet to take place.
Police allege Brannan was killed during a home invasion in Iffla Street shortly after 7.30pm. Savannah, who uses hearing aids, was arrested and charged on Monday afternoon.
The case is expected to return to court in April.
It is one of four homicides to occur in Victoria over the past four days.
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