Drive-by shooting puzzles Sydney police

 

POLICE are scratching their heads as to why a mother and her three daughters were targeted in a drive-by shooting in Sydney's south. Police rushed to a rented house in Walker Street, Turrella, in Sydney's south, about 12.30am (AEDT) after reports of gunshots. They found three .45 calibre shell casings at the edge of the driveway and a bullet hole in the garage at the rear of the premises. Two other shots had struck a neighbouring fence. A mother and her three daughters were inside the home but were uninjured. The family were initially reluctant to speak to police, but the mother and one daughter gave interviews this afternoon. Detective Inspector Gary Ballard, from St George Local Area Command, urged neighbours to remain calm and report anything to police about the incident. He said police were frustrated by an apparent "cone of silence" surrounding the incident. "It's frustrating when a serious incident like this occurs and the police have little to go on," Det Insp Ballard told reporters in Sydney. "And we believe that there's persons out there that obviously are aware of what happened. "However, if you could call it a cone of silence, it doesn't assist us at all." The owner of the home arrived at the scene and spoke briefly to his tenants. "They're pretty shaken up," the man, identified only as Ross, told AAP. "Nothing like this has ever happened (in the neighbourhood)." He said the occupants were upset over the presence of the media. A news crew was filming in front of the home when a young man approached and starting yelling at a cameraman and a woman reporter. He appeared to throw down a camera tripod and approached the car in which the news team had taken refuge. Det-Insp Ballard said the news crew rang police, who revisited the home and told the residents not to approach the media. "If there was some hostility down there, then we'd rather people come forward to the police," Det-Insp Ballard told reporters. The mother of the family also has twin 25-year-old sons, police said. One of them is known to police, but Det-Insp Ballard later told AAP that detectives were still trying to determine a motive. "One of them has been in trouble before," he said, adding there was nothing to link the man to the shooting. "Whether it was thrill-shooting, a joy-shooting or just to get their kicks, we have no information whatsoever."