Police investigating after shots were fired into a northern Tasmanian property

Tasmania Police believe shots fired into a Hadspen property in an early morning incident were part of a targeted attack, but aimed at the wrong address.

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A PROPERTY in the state’s North hit with bullets could have been targeted by mistake, police believe.

Just after 3am on Saturday, police attended a property at Bowdens Road, Hadspen, following reports of a firearm being discharged.

Police discovered three shots were fired into the address while there was a single occupant inside.

The shots damaged the two front windows and woke the occupant from their sleep.

No one was injured in the incident.

A witness reported seeing a small hatchback leave the area and head towards Main Road, Hadspen, immediately after the shots were fired.

Senior Sergeant Joe Riley said police believed the incident was not random in nature, and that residents of the area should not be scared of a recurrence.

“The person involved was shaken … they seemed to have had nothing to do with the incident itself,” Sen-Sgt Riley said.

“They were obviously very scared by what had happened.”

Sen-Sgt Riley said it was possible the shooting was supposed to target a nearby premises known to police.

He said there were no specific suspects at this stage, but said the weapon was believed to be a shotgun.

“It just reiterates that firearms in the hands of the wrong people have no place in our community,” he said.

Sen-Sgt Riley said police were pulling together “as many resources” as possible to solve the crime.

He said police were looking into whether the incident was linked to a search on August 11 where drugs, firearms and ammunition were seized at a Hadspen residence.

Two men were arrested in the search, which recovered a trafficable quantity of methylamphetamine, or “ice”, destined for a Hadspen address.

Sen-Sgt Riley said despite the recent incidents, crime in the state’s North was “very stable” with all crime trends decreasing for the current financial year to date.

He said the Bowdens Rd investigation would involve forensic lines of inquiry, door-to-door inquiries, CCTV and witness information. Inquiries so far indicate a taxi driver may have seen the offenders’ vehicle.

Police urge anyone with information about the incident or about unlicensed firearms in the community to contact Launceston CIB on 131 444 or anonymously on Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestopperstas.com.au.

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