MOONEE Valley Council has set up a refuge for residents unable to get to their homes because of a siege in an East Keilor street.
Police are still waiting for a gunman — holed up in a Sterling Drive house since 7am — to give himself up.
This afternoon, Detective Superintendent Brett Guerin said the gunman, a 43-year-old man known to police, had fired six shots from the house.
Four were in the direction of police; one lodged in the front of the police special operations group van parked at the front of the house.
Detective Superintendent Guerin said the man was also in possession of a police radio. ‘‘No one wants to see him get hurt,’’ Detective Superintendent Guerin said.
‘‘All we want to do is arrest him and interview him in relation to some criminal matters. His safety is guaranteed — if he were to come out right now with his hands up, not a hair on his head would be hurt.
”We want him to come out and surrender peacefully.’’ It is believed the daughter of the gunman’s partner has helped police with their negotiations with the man, but he is unwilling to give up his exact position.
Police have urged residents in Sterling Drive and surrounding streets to stay away from their homes, or stay indoors if already at home.
Residents of 5-15 and 2-18 Sterling Drive who wish to return to their homes should go to the traffic management point at the corner of Milleara Road and Sterling Drive.
Bond Court residents wanting to return home should attend the traffic management point at the intersection of Jeffrey and Regent Streets.
In both cases people will only be able to access their homes by foot and with a police escort.
Detective Superintendent Guerin said the gunman was ‘not making any response whatsoever.’’ ‘‘We’ll wait him out. Our main priority is the safety of the public — that’s the number one thing. We are evacuating houses along Sterling Drive, and we are not letting people back in.
‘‘Now this may be very inconvenient but we’d rather be dealing with a long siege that may be over in one or two days, hopefully a lot sooner, than fronting the coroner in 18 months to two years explaining why we didn’t go that extra step to resolve it peacefully.
‘‘Any resident returning here wont be allowed into Sterling Drive.’’
