Man shot dead in Melbourne Central Business District

Sydney, Sep 7 (IANS) A man has died after being shot in Australia's Melbourne in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

According to police, the 26-year-old victim was standing with a group of associates on a corner in the central business district when he was shot by an unknown assailant in a vehicle around 3.40 a.m., Xinhua News Agency reported.

He was taken to a hospital by his associates, but died from his injuries a short time later.

Addressing a press conference, Detective Inspector Graham Banks said that the incident is being treated as a targeted attack and confirmed that the victim was known to police.

He said that significant police resources would be deployed to find the killer due to the location and nature of the shooting.

"For it to occur in the heart of the city, even in the early hours of the morning, is just not acceptable," he said.

The victim's associates who dropped him at the hospital have been urged to contact the police to aid the investigation.

On September 1, a man and woman were hospitalised with serious injuries following a shooting and car crash in Melbourne's northern suburbs in Australia.

A police statement said that emergency services were called to reports of a car and truck colliding in the suburb of Epping, 20 km north of central Melbourne, around 9.30 p.m. on September 1.

One of the occupants of the car, a 23-year-old male, was found to have serious injuries consistent with gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital.

A second occupant, an 18-year-old female, was also taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries consistent with the collision.

The driver of the truck was not injured. Police said that investigators do not believe that the truck driver had any involvement in the shooting.

Officers attending the scene found a third vehicle on fire a short distance away from the crash site.

--IANS

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