Gunman shoots seven people in Sydney restaurant

Police were today hunting a gunman who shot and wounded seven people, including an 8-year-old boy, at a wedding reception in a Sydney restaurant late on Saturday.

No-one was reported killed.

A man armed with a semi-automatic handgun shot at diners in the New World Seafood restaurant in the western Sydney suburb of Cabramatta just before midnight, said Superintendent Frank Hansen, the Cabramatta police commander.

Hansen said an argument broke out between guests at the wedding and the gunman, who was sitting with four companions who were not part of the wedding party.

The man, described as Asian, fired a number of shots at the guests, then fled with his companions through the restaurant’s back door.

Five men, one woman and the boy were taken to nearby hospitals.

Only one victim, a 33-year-old man who suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest, was in serious condition, said Inspector Craig Peacock of Cabramatta Police.

The other victims suffered wounds to the arms and legs. The boy was shot in the upper right arm.

Forensic and ballistic experts have scoured the restaurant, looking for bullets and clues to identify the type of weapon and the gunman.

Detectives with police dogs searched the area. Police have yet to release a more detailed description of the man.

The suburb of Cabramatta has one of Australia’s densest immigrant populations, mainly from Vietnam.

The area is notorious for warfare among ethnic-based gangs and as a centre of Australia’s heroin trade.

Hansen said there was no evidence to suggest the shooting was gang-related.

Police were interviewing about 140 guests at the wedding, he said.