There was an exchange of gunfire between New South Wales police and an alleged gunman before the 60-year-old was arrested in Sydney on Sunday night, police claim.
The man allegedly shot “about 50” high-powered rifle rounds at pedestrians, cars and buildings in Croydon Park over two hours before he was apprehended by tactical officers.
The 60-year-old was released from hospital into custody at Burwood police station on Monday and was expected to be charged with a “string” of firearm offences.
A damaged bus stop on Georges River Road in Croydon Park. Photograph: Penry Buckley/The Guardian
Acting Supt Stephen Parry told reporters the man had “very few” interactions with police over the past 20 years. He sustained minor injuries on Sunday, including one to his eye socket, but not during the exchange of fire.
“There was an exchange of gunfire between police and the alleged offender prior to the tactical plan being initiated,” Parry told reporters.
Parry said the man, who stayed overnight at Bankstown hospital, was “speaking freely” with police after a physical and mental health assessment had deemed he could be returned to custody.
The acting superintendent said police had allegedly seized a single weapon – a 30-calibre rifle – from the man’s apartment above a business on Georges River Road. Other items were also seized, Parry said.
“Some of those firearms can fire in quick succession,” Parry said. Investigators believed “about 50” shots had been fired, although forensic officers were still examining two crime scenes on Monday afternoon.
Members of the public said they’d found bullet casings and reported them to forensic officers.
Sixteen people sustained injuries on Sunday night, with five treated at hospital. A man in his 50s, initially but incorrectly identified as a taxi driver, was driven to hospital in a serious condition after the car he was a passenger in was allegedly shot.
He underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the neck and was understood to be the only person to have sustained direct injuries from gunfire. Parry said the man’s injuries were non-life-threatening. The situation for the other occupants of the vehicle would have been “highly traumatic”, he said.
Parry said police had no evidence the incident was linked to organised crime or terrorism.
“We’ll know more … once we’ve spoken [to him],” he said. “We only have eyewitness accounts. It’s a male person that’s [allegedly] fired shots from his residential premises.”
Parry said the alleged gunman had adult children. He had “no reported mental history” with police. The acting assistant commissioner Trent King said on Monday the incident didn’t appear to be alcohol or drug-related.
Parry said: “It’s incredible that nobody has died … it’s a testament to the tactical plans put together by our specialist police. In my 35 years in the police, there have been very few incidents of this nature, where somebody is [allegedly] randomly targeting people in the street.”
Police were investigating how the alleged gunman obtained the rifle and whether he had a firearms licence.
A neighbouring resident, who asked not to be named, said he first heard gunshots at about 8pm. Later, he saw tactical police jump over his fence. “It felt like a war zone,” he said.
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Local police responded after receiving multiple calls from members of the public. The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said police body-worn cameras showed how close officers had come to being hit as they took cover during the “serious and terrifying incident”.
“You can hear numerous gunshots, and certainly impact, not too far from the camera,” Lanyon told Sydney radio 2GB on Monday.
One of the officers shot at had only been out of the academy five weeks, Lanyon said.
King told the ABC “it’s unprecedented for Sydney to have something like this, with such a large number of shots fired”.
“We’re very fortunate that we didn’t have more damage and certainly more injuries or indeed fatalities.”
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‘It was like non-stop bang bang bang’
A nearby business owner said there was initially confusion as the early bullets were fired.
Aysegul, who asked that her surname not be used, was running the Croydon Park Kebab House next door to the apartment the gunman allegedly began shooting from.
At first, she heard two shots, but did not know what they were. Customers inside the restaurant continued eating.
“Then it was like non-stop bang bang bang,” Aysegul said, adding she could smell the live rounds inside the restaurant.
Apparent bullet holes in a window on Georges River Road. Photograph: Penry Buckley/The Guardian
They called police who told her and her customers to shelter inside the restaurant, which they did until about 10pm.
On Monday, several bullet holes were visible in buildings and a bus stop. Shattered glass was strewn across the footpath.
Specialist officers were examining an awning in front of the window from which the gunman allegedly opened fire. Officers were visible inside the apartment.
Matt Iocco, who lives locally, arrived in the area at about 8pm on Sunday to find the street blocked off. He waited as the police operation unfolded.
Iocco works at a vet clinic next to the apartment from where the gunman allegedly opened fire. It was “very scary” to think what could have happened if he had been walking by only minutes earlier, he said on Monday.
Police investigate the scene of a shooting in Croydon Park. Photograph: Sitthixay Ditthavong/AAP
Michelle Baldock was at home across the street when she heard what she thought were firecrackers. She said the shots were going off in bursts. “It sounded considered,” she told Guardian Australia.
Baldock said there were bullet holes in the windows of her neighbour’s home.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the shooting “was a confronting and dangerous situation”.
“I want to acknowledge the incredible bravery of the police officers and emergency services who responded without hesitation to protect the community,” he said on Monday.
This article was amended on 6 October 2025 on updated advice from NSW police. An earlier version stated that several firearms were seized at the alleged gunman’s unit. Police now allege one rifle was seized.
