A bullet fired during a criminal gang-related attack in Canberra on Thursday night ripped through walls and missed a sleeping neighbour by about a metre, police say.
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Detective Superintendent Scott Moller said two men suspected to be bikies entered a house on Carter Crescent in Calwell about 10.45pm on Thursday, and fired several shots after "a short exchange".
A man was shot in the hand and treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, in what police believe to be the latest in a serious of violent incidents sparked by bikie feuds in the capital.
A woman and small child were in the house when the man was shot, but they were physically unharmed.
Asked how close the sleeping neighbour came to being hit by a bullet, Superintendent Moller replied, "I believe it was about a metre".
The suspects, who police were yet to identify on Friday, also set three cars on fire in the backyard of the targeted house before moving on to a second house in the same street.
Superintendent Moller said that after firing "a number of shots" at the second targeted house, the offenders fled.
He did not reveal which gangs were believed to be involved, but said people living at each of the targeted houses were known to police as a result of previous criminal gang-related incidents.
"I don't know what the motive is at this stage [and] it's very early on in terms of suspects, but certainly some of the victims have been known to us," Superintendent Moller said.
"... I'd say it is a targeted attack. A number of firearms were used, and we're still processing the scene to identify exactly what firearms were used."
Australian Federal Police forensics officers are examining three crime scenes on Carter Crescent, and cones numbered up to 31 could be seen outside the houses on Friday morning.
ACT Policing's Taskforce Nemesis, which targets outlaw motorcycle gangs, is investigating and Superintendent Moller said he had re-assigned detectives in order to beef up the taskforce.
"The disruption of criminal gangs continues to be ACT Policing’s number one priority," he said.
The incident comes just over a week after several shots were fired into a Ngunnawal house that was previously the home of a Comancheros bikie gang member.
ACT chief police officer Justine Saunders said the house targeted last Tuesday in that incident was now home to an innocent family.
She said the offenders had also set fire to the front door of the Ngunnawal house as they left, but no one was injured.
Revealing the Ngunnawal incident on Wednesday, Assistant Commissioner Saunders said police also had evidence suggesting that Canberra was now home to a fourth bikie gang.
She said the Finks had established themselves in the capital and had about 10 members locally.
They joined the Rebels, Comancheros and Nomads as active bikie gangs in the ACT.
"If there's something that keeps me awake at night, it's gangs in Canberra," Assistant Commissioner Saunders said on ABC radio on Wednesday.
She also reiterated calls for police to be given more power in the fight against criminal gangs, continuing a push for anti-consorting laws similar to those in NSW.
New penalties were introduced last year, including a drive-by shooting offence with a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, but the ACT government has so far resisted calls for anti-consorting laws because of human rights concerns.
"I've said consistently and I'll continue to say that police need preventative powers to ensure that we can prevent the sort of crime I've just referred to, occurring, where we can," Assistant Commissioner Saunders said on ABC radio.
Video: ACT Policing
Shadow Attorney-General Jeremy Hanson, who has called for anti-consorting laws in the ACT since they were introduced in NSW in 2009, said his case was only getting stronger.
"Without anti-consorting laws, this bikie war in Canberra will never end," Mr Hanson said.
"It is therefore only a matter of time until an innocent bystander is killed, and at that point, Labor and Greens members of the Assembly will need to look into the eyes of the victim's family and explain why they repeatedly ignored the pleas of the chief police officer."
Tensions between bikie gangs in Canberra have been rising in recent years.
A feud between the Nomads and Comancheros as they vied for supremacy in Canberra's south was blamed for a spate shootings and arson attacks in 2017, including two bikie-linked incidents in Calwell.
On March 19 this year, a man sought help at a service station in Chifley after being shot in the arm in a suspected bikie-related incident.
Three days later, shots were fired at a home and car in Harrison in an incident being investigated by Taskforce Nemesis.
Then, on June 8, the ACT Magistrates Court was told the ACT chapter of the Comancheros had split into two factions, sparking several incidents including one in which Canberra Comanchero Alexander Victor Miller was allegedly in possession of a sawn-off rifle when he drove past the president of a rival faction of the gang.
Mr Miller pleaded not guilty to weapons and drugs charges on Monday.
Anyone with any information about the incident in Calwell on Thursday night, or any other criminal gang activity, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.
Information can be provided anonymously.