Melbourne's northern suburbs have been rocked by a brazen machine gun attack that saw two family homes sprayed with bullets while residents slept inside in what police describe as a targeted ambush.
Dramatic CCTV Captures Failed Weapon Malfunction
Just before 1am in Broadmeadows, CCTV footage captured the chilling moment a gunman struggled with his malfunctioning weapon outside a residential property. The footage shows the offender's car pulling up before he raises his machine gun, only for the weapon to fail five consecutive times.
As the primary gunman sat back in the car attempting to fix his weapon, his accomplice in the passenger seat fired a shot. The main attacker eventually succeeded in unleashing approximately 20 bullets into the front of the house while families slept inside.
"I initially thought fireworks but then it sounded like shooting," one shaken resident told reporters. When asked if they had heard gunshots before, the resident responded: "Yes, last Friday."
Second Attack Strikes Minutes Later
Just seven minutes after the Broadmeadows shooting, the same gunman struck again two suburbs away in Hadfield. This time, the attacker fired approximately 15 shots into another family home in just 1.6 seconds - all captured on nearby CCTV cameras.
Police have confirmed both attacks were not random incidents. One officer stated clearly: "It's just attacking or intimidating one person." The connection between the two properties appears to be members of the same family being targeted.
Community Living in Fear
The Broadmeadows house has reportedly been targeted in previous shootings, leaving the entire street on edge. "The whole street is living with families, right? So that worries me," one concerned neighbour expressed.
Residents at both addresses were reluctant to speak about the attacks, though neighbours described them as "very, very nice" people. In a disturbing irony at the Hadfield property, one bullet smashed through near a sign bearing a message completely opposite to the violence that had just unfolded.
This isn't the first time the Hadfield address has been involved in shooting incidents. The property was also the scene of a shooting last year when a fight escalated, though no one was injured in that previous incident.
Police are actively hunting the gunmen but are yet to make any arrests as the investigation continues. The brazen nature of the attacks, captured extensively on CCTV, has raised serious concerns about escalating violence in Melbourne's northern suburbs.
