A 37-year-old man has died after a shooting outside a nightclub in the Australian city of Melbourne that also left three other people injured, one critically.
A nightclub security guard is dead and another is fighting for life after a drive-by shooting outside a Melbourne club, with police determined to track down the offenders.
Shots were fired from a passing SUV, hitting three security guards and a patron outside the popular Prahran nightclub Love Machine at 3:20 a.m. on Sunday, April 14.
Security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani, 37, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after the shooting, but he later died.
Many tributes are now flowing for Aaron Khalid Osmani, the security guard who was gunned down outside ‘Love Machine’…
Posted by Kristina Costalos on Saturday, April 13, 2019
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper from the Homicide Squad said no stone would be left unturned in the bid to find those responsible.
“This is a horrendous act. A busy nightclub, one of the main nightclubs in one of the main entertainment precincts of Melbourne.
“Three of the people struck were employees, security guards, and one person was a patron innocently waiting to get in,” Stamper told media at the scene.
We’re LIVE with Inspector Andrew Stamper (Homicide) and Inspector Michael Daly (Southern Metro) regarding the shooting incident at Prahran this morning. ????https://bit.ly/2v4gygs
Posted by Victoria Police on Saturday, April 13, 2019
“Those gunshot wounds were from a fairly close proximity … so, you know… horrific injuries.”
Detectives and forensic police continue to scour the area for clues and say they are yet to rule out links to organised crime gangs, and that they would form part of the investigation.
Their focus was on bloodstained clothing left lying in the middle of the road alongside bullet casings outside the entrance of the second storey nightclub.
#BREAKING Police say one of four shooting victims outside Love Machine In Prahran this morning has died in hospital. Another critical. Blood on Chapel St from where one victim ran. pic.twitter.com/HcCsbl5vOu
— Paul Dowsley (@pauldowsley7) April 14, 2019
They are investigating whether a black Porsche SUV seen leaving the area is related to the shooting.
That car was later found burnt out in the suburb of Wollert.
Four people were taken to hospital after the shooting, but police believe others may have been injured and fled the area before emergency services arrived.
A 28-year-old man remains in a critical condition and a 50-year-old man and a 29-year-old man both have non-life threatening injuries.
It’s believed one of the men has facial injuries.
An increased police presence will remain in the area on Sunday and early in the week as investigators view CCTV and speak to business owners and residents.
MELBOURNE SHOOTING: This is currently the scene outside ‘Love Machine’ nightclub near Chapel Street. 4 people are in hospital, 2 of whom are critical after a shooting at the venue at 3:20am. The exact circumstances are still being established. I’ll post updates in the comments section below…
Posted by Kristina Costalos on Saturday, April 13, 2019
Seven’s Sunday Sunrise spoke with a security guard at the club who said he had no idea there had been a shooting outside and there was no panic inside the venue, which was still operating.
Police are yet to make any arrests over the incident and are urging anyone with footage to contact them.
Australia has some of the world’s toughest gun control laws, adopted after its worst mass murder, when a gunman killed 35 people at Port Arthur in the island state of Tasmania in 1996.
A murder-suicide last year in Western Australia that killed seven members of a family was the country’s worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur case.
Neighboring New Zealand has adopted legislation to ban semi-automatic firearms and assault rifles after its worst peacetime shooting in March, which killed 50 worshippers in two mosques in the city of Christchurch.
By Melissa Meehan. Additional reporting by Reuters and NTD staff.
