Police appeal for public help after CBD shooting

Police have issued a public appeal for information after a 26-year-old man was gunned down in Melbourne’s CBD in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The man, from Seabrook in Melbourne’s south-west, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital about 4.20am by two other men who police believe are friends or acquaintances of the shooting victim.

The trio were standing outside an apartment building on Elizabeth Street when a car drove up to them and at least one shot was fired about 3.40am. Police believe the occupants of the car and shooting victim knew each other. Police established a crime scene at the corner of Franklin and Elizabeth streets on Sunday morning.

Detective Inspector Graham Banks said the dead man was known to police, but he declined to offer further details. However, he confirmed there was no indication the shooting was linked to Melbourne’s tobacco wars.

“We believe that it’s likely to be a targeted incident,” Banks said.

He appealed to the two men who dropped the shooting victim at hospital to contact police. Banks also urged anyone who was at Royal Melbourne Hospital when the man was dropped off, or in the area of the shooting at the time it occurred, to come forward.

In a separate incident at the weekend, police arrested a 26-year-old Cranbourne man and charged him with one count of murder in relation to a death in Ivanhoe on September 2. The man was arrested after a police pursuit in Pakenham on Sunday morning.

He is set to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sunday. Police also arrested a 25-year-old Narre Warren man in the Pakenham pursuit, and he remains in police custody. Police are urging anyone with information on the incidents to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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