Moonyoonooka police lockdown: Five people arrested after 32yo gunshot victim taken to hospital

Armed tactical police made the epic 400km journey from Perth in convoy before arresting multiple people in front of stunned Geraldton locals after a man was shot in the leg and left for dead early Wednesday.

WA Police A/Supt. Ben Huggett said a 32-year-old man was being treated in hospital for serious non-life-threatening injuries hours after he was shot on Allen Road in Moonyoonooka about 12.50am.

Paramedics and police rushed to the scene of the shooting, described as a “rural area,” before finding the victim alone after his attackers are believed to have fled the scene in a vehicle.

Almost 10 hours later — and after police received crucial information by unknown means — the tactical response group managed to arrest five people at a property on Hart Street in Utakarra, 9km away from the shooting.

Locals described hearing the highly skilled officers direct people to slowly exit the property with their hands visible before they were placed in custody.

A/Supt Huggett said three people were believed to be involved in the incident and that all parties were known to each other.

Police believe the five people arrested were travelling together in one vehicle, but that they were not all involved in the shooting

He said some of the five had been released from custody pending further investigations.

Local police, detectives, canine unit, and tactical response group officers were among the responders to the ordeal – which saw the public urged to stay away from the remote area as they worked to ascertain the circumstances.

“We’ve got a number of investigative actions, including completing searches of an address where the suspects were taken into custody,” A/Supt. Huggett said, as the search for the firearm remained ongoing on Wednesday.

No charges have been laid.

The sound of a gunshot woke nearby residents and the dramatic scenes of the tactical response group travelling in a BearCat saw Thursday morning compared to a police television show by some young locals.

Stepbrothers Hunter Moot, 11, and Chace Reid, 10, whose grandparents live across the road from the where the arrests were Street home where the, witnessed the raid.

“When I saw the SWAT team pull up, I was like, “Wow, first time’,” Hunter said.

“They were yelling. They were telling people to walk out the house with their hands up and walk back. It was a bit scary, but a bit interesting as well,”

“It looked like a bit like a television show, you know, like The Rookie. Yeah it looked like one of those things.

“I felt a bit nervous, like I haven’t seen it before.”

Hunter said the occupants’ hands were zip-tied and they were taken to undercover police cars, while officers inspected the house and a nearby shed.

The boys’ grandmother Ros Hughes said that she started seeing police activity about 7am while moving her horses, with the police presence ramping up during the morning.

“The boys and my husband were in the paddock here, mucking out the yard, which they didn’t finish because the police said you better move,” she said.

“They (police) were jumping over the fence, and then there was a loudspeaker saying, ‘Come out of the house with your hands up’.”

Ms Hughes claimed police had previously been called to the house “multiple times”, including about two weeks ago.

Acting Supt Ben Huggett said the firearm had not been found as of Wednesday afternoon, with searched underway at the Utakarra property linked to the arrests.

“It’s obviously early days in the investigation,” he said. “It’s too early to confirm the type of firearm.”

The victim was being treated at Geraldton Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was been “cooperating with investigators”.

“We appreciate the assistance and patience shown by members of the community.

“Any incident involving a firearm is serious and we treat it with extreme caution and is taken seriously by WA Police.”

There have been reports from local residents that the area is known for illegal camping and drug activity, though Mr Huggett would not confirm whether the incident was drug-related.

About 10.10am, the Geraldton Guardian witnessed heavily armed Tactical Response Group officers arresting at least one person at a property on Hart Street in Utakarra and calling on other occupants to leave the premises with their arms in the air.

Hudson said the occupants’ hands were zip-tied and they were taken to undercover police cars, while officers inspected the house and a nearby shed.

The boys’ grandmother Ros Hughes said that she started seeing police activity about 7am while moving her horses, with the police presence ramping up during the morning.

“The boys and my husband were in the paddock here, mucking out the yard, which they didn’t finish because the police said you better move,” she said.

“They (police) were jumping over the fence, and then there was a loudspeaker saying, ‘Come out of the house with your hands up’.”

Ms Hughes claimed police had previously been called to the house “multiple times”, including about two weeks ago.

“We’ve seen so much coming and going over the road, but nothing surprises you when you have parties coming in at three in the morning and stuff like that. You know, it’s not a normal house,” she said.

Lesley Allen, who owns a property on Allen Road in Moonyoonooka near where the shooting happened, did not know there had been a potential “gunman down on our front road” until watching the news.

“It’s not every day you have a shooting out the front of your place and you’re not aware of it,” she said.

“It was a bit of a shock. We didn’t know anything about it. No one came to the house to alert us.”

Ms Allen said the area had ongoing problems with illegal camping, rubbish dumping and drug dealing, describing it as “pretty bad and pretty constant”.

Her husband had previously approached illegal campers, who she said retaliated by smashing his car with a golf club.

Ms Allen said police were common in the area, but the shooting came as a shock.

An alert was issued just before 3am for people to stay away from the area and wait for further advice.

The initial alert, which contained scarce detail, came after the 32-year-old was shot about 1am.

St John Ambulance was called following reports of a person with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

A spokesperson confirmed he arrived at hospital at 1.58am.

A local who lives on Giles Road said she was jolted awake by a bang about 1am.

“It was a bang that woke me up,” she told The West Australian. “I checked outside and didn’t see anything, so I went back to bed.”

Owner of nearby Woof’s House Dog Daycare, Leah Reynolds, said police were stationed on Narra Tarra-Moonyoonooka Road between Giles and Allen roads.

“They haven’t told us if they will block the road off or anything, I’ve been on the phone to customers all morning who keep asking if they can get through or not,” she said.

The main road, which is a major route for semi-trailers carrying freight, remains open.

“It would be very hard to close because of how busy it is with trucks, there’s not really an alternative way for them to go,” Ms Reynolds said.

Anyone in the Moonyoonooka area early on Wednesday was asked to review dashcam footage for suspicious people or vehicles and contact police on 131 444 or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.