Witness describes moment gunman opens fire on Altona North cafe, Melbourne
A sudden scramble erupted as the gunman shot indiscriminately into a crowd.
Diners have run for their lives after a gangland gunman opened fire on a crowd at a busy Altona North cafe in what police believe is the latest strike in Melbourne’s tit-for-tat tobacco war.
A sudden scramble erupted as the gunman shot indiscriminately into a crowd of about a dozen people outside the shisha cafe on Tuesday night.
WATCH VIDEO ABOVE: Gangland gunman opens fire outside cafe
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“We believe that it’s likely to be connections to the illicit tobacco conflict,” Detective Inspector Graham Banks from the Gang Crime Squad said.
One patron was shot twice in the arm and immediately ran inside the cafe. The 49-year-old victim remains in hospital.
“The victim’s known to police, yep,” Banks confirmed.
The third bullet hit the window of a parked car that was in the way.
Police believe the gunman fired from inside a ute that was stolen from a Newport home last month. The vehicle crashed into a parked car as it fled the shooting and was later burnt out.
“It may well be just a random shooting of that crowd of people to send a message or it may well be a targeted attack on that person or someone else and that person has been injured as a consequence,” Banks said.
Customers at Cafe Squared were desperate to escape the gunfire. One jumped through a window, while another hid behind a wall but still managed a drag on his cigarette.
A witness who was inside the cafe described the terrifying ordeal.
“Sure I am scared. The sounds for the gun, very, very very high. I stay inside,” he said.
In a brazen move, the gunman dumped the ute and set it on fire three hours and 20 minutes later on the same road as the shooting, just 650 metres from the main crime scene where police were still investigating.
“It’s outrageous, clearly, but unfortunately this is the type of conflict we’re seeing in this space,” Banks said.
Police are continuing to investigate whether the victim was the intended target or if the shooting was designed to send a message to those involved in the illicit tobacco trade.
Originally published on 7NEWS
