Chris Minns issues gun warning after 11-year-old boy shot in face and neck at Norwest apartment in Sydney

NSW Premier Chris Minns has declared “there’s never a safe gun” after an 11-year-old boy was shot in the face and neck inside a luxury apartment complex in Sydney’s northwest.

The child remains in a critical condition after suffering serious gunshot wounds at a unit on Fairway Drive at Norwest, in Sydney’s Hills District, about 5pm on Monday.

An 18-year-old man has since been charged with concealing a serious indictable offence after three teenagers were initially arrested as part of the investigation.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Minns described the shooting as a “horrible event” and said police were working to determine why a firearm was inside the home.

“Obviously, it’s under police investigation, so it’s difficult for me to comment. But this is an innocent boy.

“We’re getting to the bottom of NSW. Police are getting to the bottom of why there was a gun in that household in the first place,” he said.

Mr Minns said the shooting demonstrated the devastating consequences firearms could have, particularly when innocent people were caught up in incidents involving guns.

“There’s a person who’s under arrest who understands cooperating with NSW Police, but there’s never a safe gun, and this is an example of the damage that they can do, particularly to innocent people,” he said.

“We need to make sure that there’s less of them in the street, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Emergency services were called to the Norwest apartment on Monday afternoon following reports a child had been shot.

Officers arrived to find the 11-year-old suffering gunshot wounds after being shot “in the face and neck” from inside the home.

Police provided emergency assistance before paramedics arrived and rushed the boy to hospital for lifesaving treatment.

His devastated mother accompanied him to hospital and remained by his bedside as doctors worked to treat his injuries.

Superintendent Naomi Moore said the boy’s mother was understandably distressed by the ordeal.

“She is as distressed, as any parent would be, about what she is dealing with at the moment,” she told reporters.

“It is an (absolutely) tragic situation and as we’ve seen some tragedy across Sydney in the last couple of days, this is not far from the worst that I have seen.”

Four 18-year-old men and a 44-year-old woman were at the apartment complex when emergency services arrived.

Police said those inside the property included relatives and friends who had been “allowed access” to the home.

Three of the 18-year-old men were arrested on Monday and taken to Castle Hill Police Station.

Police have since charged one of the men with concealing a serious indictable offence.

He was refused bail and is due to appear before Blacktown Local Court on Tuesday.

The other two men were released pending further inquiries.

Police have not revealed exactly what they believe happened inside the apartment before the boy was shot or who allegedly fired the weapon.

Investigators have said there is no indication at this stage that the incident is linked to organised crime.

A major focus of the investigation remains locating the firearm involved in the shooting.

Police have not found the weapon and Supt Moore confirmed there were no firearms registered to the Fairway Drive address.

Detectives are now working to determine how a gun came to be inside the property, who had access to it and the circumstances in which it was fired.

The apartment was declared a crime scene as forensic officers and detectives began examining the property for evidence and piecing together the movements of those inside the home.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information that could assist police has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.