Man shot dead in Sydney’s north-west

“My heart goes out to the family of this victim, and certainly any of the people that witnessed it, [it] would have been a horrific thing to witness, and it’s certainly not something we tolerate in the community.”

Joyce said police were looking at possible links to a tactical operation on Tuesday that saw the foiling of an alleged ‘kill car’.

“It’s still early in the investigation, we’re unsure of that, and that’s forming part of our investigation,” he said.

Riverstone resident Ben, who declined to share his last name, said the shooting was abnormal for a quiet suburban street.

“I went for a walk with my wife,” he said. “I think it was maybe five past six, and [I heard what] could have been a gunshot … I thought it could have just been a construction site.

“We saw the commotion … and a local said that someone’s been [shot]. It was around then, when we heard a bang as well, and a lot of smoke went up in the air … that would have been the car.”

“There was a large commotion, a lot of people were just shocked because they’ve never witnessed anything like this … the shooting happened with children literally riding bikes around the park.”

Joyce said one of the burnt cars was a red Audi, and that a male suspect was possibly inside it before it caught on fire.

“We have the description of potentially one male in the vehicle. That’s all we know at this stage from the witnesses, [and it] was seen to speed away from the location, and that vehicle was found burnt out shortly thereafter,” he said.

The man who was shot has yet to be formally identified.

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