A body has been found in a creek by police hunting a gunman who shot dead a man at a service station south-west of Sydney as part of a bikie-related attack.
Police have not confirmed the identities of the two men but the service station victim has been named locally as 32-year-old Darren Wallace. Police said they believe the men were known to each other and they confirmed they were bikies who were known to police.
Detective Superintendent Wayne Benson said police would continue to monitor incidents across New South Wales in case of any revenge attacks following the shooting at Picton’s Coles Express service station in Picton.
Heavily-armed police who were hunting the shooter have now confirmed the town is safe, Benson said.
The killing happened on Argyle Street, Picton, around 12.25pm on Wednesday. Police quickly advised residents of the town, 80km south-west of Sydney’s central business district, to stay away. “A perimeter has been established, there have been no arrests at this time and members of the public are urged to avoid the area,” police said at the time.
The body of a second man was then found in a nearby creek. Police said they did not fire any shots during the search but did not confirm his cause of death. “The investigation is in its early stages and inquiries are continuing,” they said.
Security precautions were put in place at Picton high school and Picton public school but the Department of Education said students were later permitted to leave under the supervision and direction of staff.
#Picton gunman is believed to have a high-powered rifle, the witness said: https://t.co/AZNwJBvjGe #7News pic.twitter.com/K3JFmc6ac9
— 7News Yahoo7 (@Y7News) December 9, 2015
Witness Ron Davies was selling raffle tickets about 50m away when he heard a shot ring out. He told AAP: “They were arguing. The guy who was shot said to the other guy ‘don’t do it’ and he just went bang and shot him.”
“And then he casually just turned back and walked up the street.”
A woman who had driven into the service station told Sydney’s 2GB radio station police were yelling at customers to get out.
“[We] saw a guy just sort of stagger from the main road, up to the petrol bowser and just drop,” she said. “There were police already there who were screaming at us to get out of there.”
Other callers said a man was seen carrying a high-powered rifle.
More than 20 police cars and four tactical units responded to the incident, the witnesses said.
Picton police station is just around the corner from the service station. Police helicopters are scouring the nearby area.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
