An 18-year-old has appeared in court charged with concealing a serious offence. Detectives are seeking witnesses and examining possible organised crime links.
By the online editorial team
An 11-year-old boy is on life support after being shot in the face and neck inside an apartment in Sydney’s north-west, as police work to establish how the firearm was discharged and where it has been taken.
The shooting occurred at a home in Norwest on Monday, September 21. The child was inside with his 44-year-old mother and four men aged 18. The five other occupants were not injured.
Three of the men were arrested. Two were subsequently released pending further inquiries, while the third was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence, NSW Police confirmed. NSW Police
Issac Bechara, 18, appeared before Blacktown Local Court. Court documents allege he failed, without reasonable excuse, to inform police despite knowing that a serious offence had been committed. The allegation concerns the concealment of a reckless firearm discharge that caused grievous bodily harm to a child.
Bechara did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody ahead of a further appearance at Parramatta Local Court. The allegation has not been determined by the court.
Police are still looking for the firearm and another 18-year-old who may have it. Investigators also want to speak with people who left before officers arrived.
Superintendent Naomi Moore said a lack of detailed information from those present was complicating efforts to reconstruct the shooting.
The boy’s mother has yet to provide a formal statement. Moore said officers were giving her time to focus on her son and would speak with her at the first suitable opportunity.
“Her priority is her child,” she said.
Detectives are considering several possible explanations, including whether anyone involved has connections to organised crime. Moore stressed that investigators had not established what happened and were keeping multiple lines of inquiry open.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the child’s father is a convicted cocaine dealer whose property was targeted in a drive-by shooting last year, and that his grandfather was killed in a Sydney shooting about two decades ago. The newspaper also reported that police do not believe those earlier incidents are connected to the Norwest shooting.
NSW Premier Chris Minns described the incident as deeply distressing and urged anyone with information to come forward.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane questioned how a firearm came to be inside the home, how it was discharged and why it had not been recovered.
Police are appealing for public assistance. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report through the Crime Stoppers website.
