A teenage boy is “extremely lucky” to be alive after he was shot while sleeping in his home in Melbourne’s south-east, in what police say may be a case of mistaken identity.
A car was seen driving a couple of laps around Janmara Court at Endeavour Hills in the early hours of Wednesday, before it stopped outside the boy’s home and several rounds were fired at his house, Victorian police said.
Two of the rounds, fired from either a car or the footpath, went through his bedroom window as he slept.
The 17-year-old sustained an upper body injury and was taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition at about 1.20am. He has since spoken to police.
No other members of his family who were home at the time – a 56-year-old man, two women aged 26 and 46, and an 11-year-old girl – were injured.
Acting Insp Al Hanson said officers did not believe anyone at the house was the intended target.
The detective said the boy was extremely lucky to be alive. At least two people were believed to be involved in the attack.
“The family are completely cooperating and helping us with our inquiries,” Hanson said. “I expect people to be on edge, that would be natural. But rest assured police are devoting a lot of their energies to catching the offenders.”
After the shooting, police found a grey Mitsubishi Eclipse SUV burnt out at a reserve in Narre Warren at about 4am. The car was believed to have been stolen at the end of August.
Witnesses reported one of the offenders was burned when they set fire to the car. It was possible another getaway car was waiting for the attackers at the Narre Warren reserve, Hanson said.
“We urge [the person who set fire to the car] to come forward and contact police,” he said.
Police also urged anyone who saw the Mitsubishi, particularly between 1.30am and 4am on Wednesday, to come forward.
Major crime scene unit detectives and officers were investigating.
2023-09-13 00:24:45
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