A local plumber has revealed how he chased two suspected gunmen through residential streets after being woken by gunfire.
Father-of-three Daniel Klinsic has spoken of the terrifying incident that occurred on Thursday night in Austral, a suburb south-west of Sydney.
At around 11:05 p.m. Thursday night, police were called to reports of shots fired on Sixteenth Avenue.
At least six shots were fired at a family home.
A short time later, they received further reports that a vehicle had crashed on Craik Avenue, before two men fled the scene.
Upon arrival, they found bullet casings and a fuel can inside the abandoned vehicle that had been reported stolen.
Mr Klinsic told reporters he was sleeping at home with his wife when they were woken by a loud bang.
Dressed only in his pajamas and without shoes, Mr. Klinsic chased the alleged attackers.
“So I ran down the stairs and ran outside,” she said.
Local worker and hero Daniel Klinsic (pictured) revealed how he chased two suspected gunmen through residential streets after being woken by gunfire.
CCTV images from the scene of the terrifying incident in Austral, south-west of Sydney, on Thursday night
‘I saw the guy running over there, so I chased him barefoot. I was about 50 metres away from him, but obviously, being barefoot, I couldn’t run any further.
“I could see exactly what she was wearing, I saw everything,” he said.
He said pursuing the suspected gunman was a reflex action.
“It was a natural instinct: to throw myself to the ground,” he said.
Mr Klinsic said the alleged attacker was gasping for air.
“(I thought) ‘I’m going to catch you, I’m going to catch you.’ But then I hit gravel. I can’t run on gravel barefoot.”
He said the alleged attacker was talking on his phone as he ran, “obviously trying to contact someone to come pick him up.”
Mr Klinsic admitted he was afraid, but added that his motivation was to protect his family.
“When I was near my family, I was on the move, I didn’t think about guns. If I had shoes, I would have killed him.”
Mr Klinsic joked that he was “probably lucky not to get caught” as the man he was chasing was reportedly armed.
When he later saw the bullets in the alleged attackers’ car, Klinsic admitted that was when he realized.
“Damn, this could have gotten ugly real quick,” he said.
Neighbors said they were not surprised that Mr. Klinsic started the chase, as it is a fairly common occurrence.
“There have been some issues, like doing burnouts and all that on the street and speeding up and down the street,” Klinsic said.
Police appear at the scene in Austral, south-west of Sydney, where a barefoot worker chased a suspected gunman on Thursday night.
“So I chased a couple of people down the street and a few cars. I just didn’t think, I just went for it.”
Police recovered an empty pistol magazine on Seventeenth Avenue and located a 30-year-old man on Fourth Avenue at about 11:35 p.m.
He was taken to Liverpool Police Station and is assisting police with enquiries.
On Friday morning, police located a silver handgun believed to have been used in the incident.
Investigations are ongoing.