Pushbike shooting theory

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 themercury.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 A RISDON Vale man who called for help from a public phone box after being shot in the arm was yesterday recovering in hospital after a predawn “altercation”.

The 28-year-old was attacked outside a run-down weatherboard house in a quiet suburban cul-de-sac just before 4.35am yesterday.

Police arrested a 31-yearold Warrane man “just around the corner” from the alleged crime scene of Tecoma Rd, Risdon Vale, about 6am.

They expected to lay charges against the man, who remained in custody yesterday afternoon.

Police said they were still investigating what caused the altercation, but believed a pushbike seized at the scene was involved.

Detective Inspector Doug Rossiter said the men knew each other, and there was no ongoing threat to the community despite police not finding the firearm.

He said the men began arguing inside the house but moved onto the street, where the alleged attack occurred.

“There were other people present at the house at the time but no one else was injured,” Det Insp Rossiter said.

“We’re still looking for the firearm.”

He said it was “concerning” Hobart had experienced a number of firearm incidents recently.

“It’s really important we do all we can to get firearms out of the hands of people that shouldn’t have them,” he said.

“So I would encourage anyone who knows anything about illicit firearms to let police know so we can help prevent situations like this.”

Tecoma Rd was cordoned off and was being treated as a crime scene while police interviewed neighbours and collected forensic evidence nearby the house, located near Risdon Prison.

Det Insp Rossiter said the victim had given an account of events to police from hospital.