‘Emotions were high’: crowds gathered following ‘horrific’ fatal shooting in Melbourne

An emotional crowd gathered following the fatal shooting of a man in Melbourne in what police have described as a “horrific incident”. Emergency services were called to Langford Street in North Melbourne about 3.15am Saturday after a man was found on the footpath with a gunshot wound. The man, who is yet to be identified, was declared dead at the scene. Crime Command Detective Acting Inspector Alan Rumble called it a “horribly emotional scene” while addressing the media on Saturday morning. “It’s something that none of us wanted to experience — police or the local community — so we’ve got a lot of resources allocated, lot of specialist resources allocated including local police, our detectives here,” Inspector Rumble said. He said police received several reports about the man on Saturday morning. The ABC has reported “scuffles” broke out following the man’s death as crowds gathered at the scene from a nearby rave. Inspector Rumble said “emotions were high” when asked about the crowds. “Anyone confronted with this, whether you’re a friend or a family or just a passer-by, I can understand it’d be horribly emotional scene to be confronted with,” he said. “As you can imagine it would be a horrible incident to come across, it’s not pleasing for anyone. “There were a number of people in the area and emotions were high.” He said venues had been recently open nearby, with it possible someone witnessed what happened. “I really just want to highlight the fact that this is an opportunity — we are here to appeal for witnesses, we know that there were a lot of people in the area at the time, we really, we urge those … to reach out, contact police, and provide the information, whatever information you have because this is a significant priority,” Inspector Rumble said. “Our real goal here today is to identify all avenues of inquiry, investigate those, and ensure that the family of the victim are supported in this horrible time, ensure that the offenders are held to account, and also the local community — give them the reassurance that Victoria Police take this seriously, and we are here to support them.” He said there are additional patrols in the area however there is no threat to the public. “I acknowledge that the offenders have not been identified and arrested, we are in the infancy of this investigation, there is nothing to suggest there is an ongoing immediate risk to the community or to others involved,” he said. A crime scene was established early Saturday morning, with officers working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed no arrests have been made yet. “Police have cordoned off the area,” the spokesperson said. “Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam/CCTV footage, or any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.” Police have urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward.