Warilla woman locked eyes with gunman

The 13-year-old boy was sleeping when the bullet penetrated his bedroom window about 12.30am. 

The teen’s mother, Lisa, said the bullet passed through three rooms before lodging in the loungeroom wall, to be dug out by investigating police hours later. 

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The shot sounded moments after an armed man wearing a balaclava arrived at the Trumper Street home and bashed in a glass panel at the entryway, reached his hand inside and attempted to open the door. 

Lisa said her partner and another adult male who was visiting the home put their weight against the door and attempted to fend off the intruder with a hockey stick.

From the hallway, she looked through the missing pane and locked eyes with the gunman, she said. 

“There was a little square window that he’d broke that was in perfect view of his face. He was wearing a balaclava. I couldn’t see his face fully, just his eyes. I looked straight at him and he had it [the gun] pointed straight at me. It was black and it was long and thin,” she said. 

“I just shouted out to everyone, ‘he’s got a gun!’. 

“He didn’t say a word, he didn’t ask me for anything.” 

Lisa told the Mercury the gun was still pointed at her when a shot sounded. 

She “dived into the loungeroom the second it went off”, believing she was in the bullet’s path. 

But she had since come to believe a second gunman standing outside the home, aiming at her son’s room, was responsible for the noise.

“The bang woke him [the teen] up, then he came running, screaming. 

“I can’t believe he’s done that to my child. You could clearly see it was a child’s room.” 

“I don’t know why anyone would want to shoot me. I haven’t done anything to deserve to be shot. I don’t owe anybody money. It might be the wrong person, I don’t know.”  

The gunmen are believed to have departed in a white sedan that quickly left the area.

Detectives and Forensic Services Group officers examined the scene throughout Tuesday morning. 

The door’s battered surrounds and the broken window pane showed where the struggle to gain entry took place. 

Meantime, Lake Illawarra Commander Zoran Dzevlan called for calm. 

“It’s an isolated incident for the Illawarra and we’re confident we’re making progress with the investigation with identifying the offenders,” he said.  

Police have urged anyone with information about the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.