Police were called to two more firearm incidents in Canberra on Thursday morning, the fourth and fifth such shootings in the city within the past 10 days.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Police believe shots were fired into a house and car on Badimara Street in Waramanga in the early hours of Thursday.
There was also a separate firearm incident on Powlett Street in Kaleen where shots were fired into a driveway.
Police said both incidents were targeted, not random attacks, and at least one may be linked to outlaw motorcycle gang activity.
"We have concerns one of these incidents is related to outlaw motorcycle gang activity," Deputy Chief Police Officer Justine Gough said.
About 1.20am on Thursday, neighbours saw three men at a house in Kaleen. They then heard a loud bang, saw the men run away and heard a car driving off, according to police.
When police arrived, they said they found "a small depression in the driveway" surrounded by fractured pieces of concrete and metal.
Reports of gunfire were also received overnight from Badimara Street in Waramanga, but when police first went to investigate, they said they found no damage and were not approached by any local residents.
Police returned to the street at 8.20am when they received another report of bullet holes in a car and a house.
"Attending police located what appears to be bullet holes in the back window of the car and one in a residence in that street," Deputy Chief Police Officer Gough said.
They said no one was inside the car at the time, but residents were inside both houses in Waramanga and Kaleen.
"There were a number of shots at both sites, [but] there were no injuries at either incident," she added.
"It's concerning that we have had five shooting incidents in such a short space of time.
"Any firearm incident is of great concern to police and I reiterate to the community that these incidents are targeted, not random attacks."
Police are casting doubt on links to recent shootings.
In the early hours of Sunday, February 8, two cars were sprayed with bullets in separate shootings in Canberra's south.
"We do believe they are incidents between two parties. The issues relate to the people residing at the premises and the shooters of these incidents," Deputy Chief Police Officer Gough said.
Based on intelligence and forensics she said so far police are "satisfied there is no linkage between these shooting that happened overnight and those previous incidents".
Forensics and ballistics officers were at the scene in Waramanga on Thursday morning, and police closed the street from the eastern intersection with Kalgoorlie Crescent.
"Police are committed to finding these offenders and removing then and their firearms from our streets," Deputy Chief Police Officer Gough said.
Police noted that Canberra was still one of the safest cities in Australia and "firearm offences have declined by 42 per cent in the past five years".
Police urged the community to report anything they see or hear about illegal firearm activity.
A resident in the Waramanga street told The Canberra Times they had been instructed by police not to speak to the media.
More to come
