An emotional father of five has fought back tears as he recalls the terrifying moment his life and that of his young son were threatened by a suspected gunman during a two-hour siege of a suburban home, where gunfire was exchanged with police. heavily armed.
A man, 26, is expected to be charged after he allegedly barricaded himself with a high-powered rifle inside a Weir Views home in Melbourne’s west on Tuesday.
Ali and her one-year-old son had just He woke up from an afternoon nap to find his daughter’s bedroom door locked after an allegedly armed intruder broke into their Leon Drive home undetected.
“My wife went to pick up my children from school and I was sleeping with my youngest son,” he told Nine News.
‘One of my daughters’ room was locked and I tried to open it… I heard a noise that someone was inside and saying ‘I have a gun and I will kill you if you come in’.
‘The guy was with a gun, he can shoot my son, he can shoot me. Last night I couldn’t sleep.
Ali recalled how the alleged gunman remained on the other side of the bedroom door during the exchange.
After walking away from the door, Ali called triple-0 and called his wife, who told him that the police had cordoned off the street.
A police officer carries Ali’s son to safety after a two-and-a-half-hour siege in Melbourne’s west.
Police negotiated with the man for two hours before Ali and his son could be freed through a broken window at the front of the house and police took the boy to safety.
Ali is grateful for the police’s efforts.
“Thank God we are safe and the police definitely did a good job,” Ali said.
The surrounding area was sealed off and residents were asked to remain indoors while specialist officers surrounded the home.
Shocked neighbors told Nine News the scene looked like a ‘Hollywood movie’.
“It was crazy, it wasn’t good,” one said.
“My son was just screaming, it was horrible as a mother, I’m sorry, it was horrible as a mother,” another told the channel.
Superintendent Michael Cruse said police negotiators worked for two hours to encourage the man to leave peacefully.
Shortly after 6 p.m., police thought they had made a breakthrough when the alleged gunman agreed to let his hostages escape unharmed.
Police allege the man then opened fire on officers.
«At that moment the police tactically entered the house. “We will allege at that time that another shot was fired at the police entry team and they were able to deploy a police dog and take the offender down,” Supt Cruse said.
The alleged gunman, 26, remains in hospital after being bitten by a police dog during arrest
Superintendent Cruse revealed that one of the elite officers responded, but did not reach the man.
“The offense is very serious and it is completely unacceptable that a member of the police force has been exposed to this type of danger,” Superintendent Cruse said.
Superintendent Cruse said the man allegedly fired multiple shots at police after stealing a 70-year-old woman’s car about 2.30pm on Tuesday in Snake Valley.
The man then allegedly headed to Melton, where police deployed a police helicopter to track him for more than 100 kilometers to the Weir Views house, where a dramatic siege took place.
Neighbors on Leon Drive told media that the gunman was seen playing on a trampoline in a nearby backyard before he allegedly forced his way into the home.
“When they raided the house, everything was chaos,” one resident recalls.
“You heard glass breaking, canines barking, people screaming, obviously, then we heard this explosion and more glass breaking.
Superintendent Cruse confirmed reports that the man had allegedly been observed behaving strangely before taking the hostages, but did not go into specific details.
“There was a time when he was behaving erratically in the backyard of the establishment, yes,” he said.
The alleged offender, 26, from Snake Valley, was taken to hospital after being bitten by a police dog during his dramatic arrest.
He is expected to be released from hospital in the coming days, where he will be questioned by police and likely charged.