Three people have been fatally shot and a gunman is on the run after a shooting in a country town in central western NSW.
NSW police said on Thursday that a police operation was under way at Lake Cargelligo, 240km south-west of Dubbo.
Emergency services were called to the area at about 4.40pm after reports of a shooting.
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The gunman remains on the run. Police resources have been brought in from surrounding areas in the western region to apprehend him.
Lake CargelligoLake Cargelligo
Police confirmed that two women and a man have died, and another man has been taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Police have urged locals to remain indoors. Between 1,300 and 1,500 people live in Lake Cargelligo.
“The public is urged to avoid the area and for local residents to stay inside,” police said.
Police have sent a geo-targeted text message to residents telling them to stay inside and avoid the area.
Guardian Australia understands that police are not treating the incident as terror related.
A staff member at the Commercial Hotel in the centre of town, who did not wish to be named, said there had been a lot of police activity.
“I’m just inside, trying to not be around,” they said.
A manager of a local motel said it was “a little bit scary”, and she believed more police were headed to the area.
Roy Butler, the NSW MP for Barwon which takes in Lake Cargelligo, posted on social media that he had learned the tragic news just moments after getting off a plane.
“It’s a terrible situation, and it’s still live, so we don’t have much information. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he said.