Neighbours woken by the sound of shots at a Mount Keira home early Thursday have told police they saw the suspected gunman run from the property and into a waiting car.
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The road was closed to traffic for more that six hours as police combed over the surrounds of a unit at 149 Mount Keira Road.
Forensics officers examined damage to the first-storey unit's balcony, including a small, clean hole through a metal supporting pole.
Some residents told the Mercury they heard as many as five shots sound about 4.45am.
Some dismissed the sounds as linked to deer hunting, but two doors down from the targeted unit, Lianna Costi awoke in fright.
"I was woken up by these loud noises I thought were gun shots. I had actually fallen asleep on the lounge so I quickly ducked down and ran upstairs," she said.
“The kids were out of bed saying, "what's that?".
"My husband thought it was fire crackers but then he saw a man running down the road.
"It's pretty scary. My children were pretty freaked out when we saw all the cops outside this morning."
“A drive-by shooting is a big deal, especially somewhere like Mount Keira.”
Police are now appealing to the public to help identify the gunman, who was last seen running eastward towards Crown Street before getting into a car, described as a white Holden Commodore, late-90s model sedan.
Wollongong acting commander Chad Gillies said there were three people inside the unit – a couple and one of their brothers, all aged in their 20s.
All were physically unharmed and were assisting police.
Acting superintendent Gillies said police believed the attack was targeted but would not elaborate, citing the early stage of the investigation.
“The motivation at this stage is unclear,” he said.
“We’ve conducted extensive canvases up and down Mount Keira Road and spoken to a number of people in an effort to get as much information as we can.
“We were searching for and seized a number of exhibits in that area which will hopefully, after forensic identification, help to further the investigation.
“For someone to be using a firearm in a public place … the potential for injury is extremely high. For that reason, shooting indiscriminately into a house or a unit block has a real opportunity to kill or seriously injure people.”
“It's an extremely serious incident. It would stress or cause trauma for anyone, not just in the house but those in the immediate neighbourhood, I would imagine.”
“Any incident involving firearms is taken extremely seriously by the NSW Police Force and hence now the main priority for our investigators is to try and ascertain those who are involved and then try and get them off the street as soon as we can.
Anyone with information that could assist with the investigation is urged to contact Wollongong police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.