A police officer shot and killed the driver of an allegedly stolen vehicle after the officer was pinned by the car to the corner of a factory in Melbourne's north during an extended pursuit.
Three alleged offenders had been pursued by police over a string of burglaries in the western and northern suburbs, which culminated in the fatal shooting on Carrick Drive in Tullamarine at 1.45am on Friday.
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Suspect dead, two police injured in shooting
Police shoot dead a suspect near a factory in Tullamarine and two officers have been injured.
Air wing and dog squad were involved in the pursuit of an allegedly stolen vehicle, which police had tried to intercept on the Western Ring Road but were unsuccessful.
The men sped off from the pursuit, police said, before driving up an embankment on the Tullamarine Freeway and fleeing on foot into an industrial area.
Police continued their pursuit, finding the men had taken two vans from a factory.
Not long later, police managed to corner one of the alleged offenders in the factory.
A sergeant then got out of his car, police said, but was driven at and pinned by the men in the van.
"We believe there was four shots fired, one of them fatally wounding the man who was driving what we say was a stolen vehicle," said Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane.
The two other men were arrested not far from where the shooting took place and are in custody.
Rocco Sorace was sleeping in a neighbouring factory when the shooting started about 1.45am.
Photo: Google
The two business in the factory are electrical and plumbing companies.
Mr Sorace said he heard eight or nine shots and when he came outside after it was over there were bullet holes in the van.
"I was in bed I just heard bang bang bang. You hear a lot of shots, you stay inside," he said.
Mr Sorace said his dog started barking when the offenders entered the factory. After the shooting was over there were "police everywhere", he said.
The van, owned by Jaytee Electrics, remains at the scene resting on a flat tyre. The Major Crash Investigation Unit is also at the scene.
Police Association secretary Ron Iddles said the sergeant, who had been in the job for 15 years, was bruised and sore, but otherwise physically OK.
The constable with him had recently handed in his resignation and, by coincidence, this week was his last week in the force.
"Police don't go off to work expecting to have to draw their firearm and ultimately take someone's life," Mr Iddles said.
Both were taken to hospital.
Workers congregated around a service station waiting for the police to let them in. The road was reopened before 9am.
Homicide Squad, the Coroner and IBAC all set to investigate the circumstances of the death.
The two alleged offenders are aged 18 and 22. The dead man has not been identified.