THE teenage victim of a drive-by shooting at Thomastown is not expected to walk again.
The 19-year-old was shot in the neck on Dalton Road on Saturday night after a brief confrontation with two men police believe he knew.
Sen Det Matthew Thorp from the Armed Crime Taskforce said the man would never fully recover from his injuries after being shot with a handgun.
“It’s unlikely that he’ll walk again,” Sen Det Thorp said.
The victim was said to be walking along the Thomastown street with friends when two men in a car shouted for him to stop about 10.30pm.
According to police, the men did a U-turn, pulled over and got out of the car, one brandishing a handgun and the other a baseball bat.
“They’ve both approached the victim and the male with the handgun has shot the victim through the neck once and the victim has wandered off a few steps and collapsed,” Detective Senior Constable David Shannon told 3AW.
A machete and pair of golf clubs have been discovered near where a man was shot.
A bloodstain was still visible on the footpath earlier today where he was shot, outside a house on the corner of Dalton Rd and Rochester Drive.
The house’s resident, Cathy, who did not wish to give her surname, wasn’t home at the time and said a friend called her at 2am to tell her police had congregated outside her home.
“I think it was an omen I stayed out late,” she said.
“When you hear something like this on the news, you never think about it too much. When it happens to you, I guess you realise things like this really do happen.”
Police returned to the scene this morning after the head of a golf club was discovered outside the house.
Officers at the scene, from Whittlesea, did not yet know if they were linked to the attack.
A short time later, they were alerted to two more sets of golf clubs and a large knife that a 77-year-old resident had found in her garden across the road near the Alison St intersection.
“She was out watering the garden when she saw a big weapon,” the woman’s son Luca, 36, said.
“She’s a bit shaken.”
Luca, who was at his parents’ house at the time of the attack, said he didn’t hear the shot.
“All we saw was a man lying down on the footpath,” he said.
Another nearby resident, who did not wish to be named, said she saw police cars lining her street last night and realised “something bad had happened”.
“It’s right on our doorstep,” the 52-year-old said.
“It’s a bit frightening. It’s a quiet neighbourhood.”
The victim was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition.
RMH spokeswoman Catherine Lander said he remained critical this morning.
Police are appealing for witnesses and urge anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit crimestoppers.com.au.
Det Snr Constable Shannon said police did not yet have a clear description of the car.
samantha.landy@news.com.au