The father of an 11-year-old boy shot inside a home in Sydney‘s northwest has shared tributes to the youngster who is being kept alive by life support in hospital.
Emergency services were on Monday afternoon called to a property on Fairway Drive in Norwest after reports of a shooting.
Officers found a child with gunshot wounds to his face and neck and he was treated by paramedics. He was then rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
‘RIP my baby,’ the boy’s father shared to Instagram on Thursday afternoon, first reported by SCN.
An older relative and a cousin of the boy also shared similar tributes.
There had been five other people at the property when the gun was fired who were uninjured, including a 44-year-old woman understood to be the boy’s mother.
Three men, all aged 18, were arrested, with two taken to The Hills Police Station and later released pending further inquiries.
One of the men – Isaac Bechara – was taken to Riverstone Police Station, where he was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with concealing a serious indictable offence after the boy was shot
Emergency services were called to a property in Norwest in Sydney on Monday
His case was briefly mentioned at Blacktown Local Court on Tuesday and he did not apply for bail. He will appear before Parramatta Local Court on October 1.
It’s understood the father of the boy is a convicted cocaine dealer, whose former house was targetted in a drive-by shooting last year.
NSW Police, however, have said the boy’s shooting does not appear to be linked.
Superintendent Naomi Moore from the Hills District Police Area Command said it was ‘far too early’ to say what happened inside the apartment.
‘We have nothing to suggest that it is organised-crime-related, but we will conduct a very thorough investigation into this,’ Superintendent Moore said, seeking to calm anyone ‘fearful on the streets out here at the moment’.
‘It’s a tragic situation with an 11-year-old child suffering this injury.’
Superintendent Moore said the boy’s mother was distraught.
‘She is as distressed as any parent would be about what she is dealing with at the moment. It is an absolute tragic situation,’ she said.
On Monday, Superintendent Moore said no gun had been found and there were no firearms registered at the address.
