Three men have been arrested after a boy was shot in the face and neck inside a unit in Sydney’s north-west, with police reassuring the community that organised crime was not involved.
Paramedics and police were called to Fairway Drive in Norwest just before 5pm on Monday after reports of a shooting.
Emergency vehicles were at the scene on Monday afternoon. (ABC News)
Six people were inside the home when officers arrived, including the 11-year-old, Superintendent Naomi Moore said of the “absolute tragic situation”.
“The other occupants were a 44-year-old female and four 18-year-old males,” she said.
“Police rendered aid to that 11-year-old person prior to ambulance arriving and him being conveyed to hospital to undergo some life-saving treatment.
“And as we’ve seen some tragedy across Sydney in the last couple of days, this is not far from the worst that I’ve seen.”
She added that some were relatives and others were friends of the child.
The boy’s mother is with him in hospital, Superintendent Moore said, and “distressed, as any parent would be”.
Two of the men are in custody at Castle Hill Police Station, while the third has been taken to Roverwood Police Station. All are assisting with the investigation.
When asked if one of the men arrested had fired the shot, Superintendent Moore said it was too early in the investigation to say what had occurred inside the property.
She noted that it was not clear what type of firearm was used and that it had not been found.
“In terms of the firearm, there are no registered firearms to that address,” Superintendent Moore said.
“That again will be another line of inquiry for us to explore over the coming days.”
Police do not believe the incident was related to organised crime.
“We have nothing to suggest that it is organised crime-related, but we will conduct a very thorough investigation into this,” Superintendent Moore said.
“For those that are obviously fearful on the streets out here at the moment, we are content that we are doing a very thorough investigation here.”
The unit block where the shooting occurred has been cordoned off.
“It is appropriate for us to have a very expansive crime scene to take in every surrounding area there and to make sure that nothing is lost,” Superintendent Moore said.
‘Frightening’ scene
One resident told the ABC he was driving home from work when he came across the intense police and paramedic presence.
“I see this absolute insane scene, something out of the movies,” he said.
“This is something really unexpected of Norwest … it is quite frightening.”
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Mon 21 Sep 2026 at 8:22pmMon 21 Sep 2026 at 8:22pm
Police press conference ends
That is all from Superintendent Moore on the shooting incident.
For more on this evolving story, you can keep up to date via the ABC News website.
Mon 21 Sep 2026 at 8:21pmMon 21 Sep 2026 at 8:21pm
Police assure community
Superintendent Moore is wrapping up now, by providing a message of assurance to the wider community.
“For those that are obviously fearful on the streets out here at the moment, we are content that we doing a very thorough investigation here,” she says.
Mon 21 Sep 2026 at 8:20pmMon 21 Sep 2026 at 8:20pm
Case one of ‘the worst I’ve seen’ says superintendent
Superintendent Moore is reflecting further on the nature of the incident, amid a series of separate incidents in Sydney as of late.
“As we’ve seen some tragedy across Sydney in the last couple of days, this is not far from the worst that I’ve seen,” she says.
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