3 killed, 1 injured in domestic-related shootings in Australia; suspect at large

Three people were killed and a fourth was critically wounded in two related shootings in a rural area of Australia that police are treating as a domestic violence-related incident, officials said. The suspect remains at large.

The shootings occurred Thursday afternoon in and around Lake Cargelligo, a small town in the Central West region of the state of New South Wales, according to police. Emergency services were first called around 4:30 p.m. to reports of gunfire on Bokhara Street.

Officers found a 25-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were treated by paramedics but died at the scene, police said. The woman was seven months pregnant, according to ABC News Australia.

Police later responded to a second report of gunfire on Walker Street, where a 50-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were shot in a driveway. The woman died at the scene, while the man was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition.

Police said the incidents are believed to be linked and that a single suspect remains at large. Specialist officers from neighboring regions, along with tactical units, negotiators, and homicide detectives, have joined the search.

Police said they are searching for 37-year-old Julian Ingram, also known as Julian Pierpoint, in connection with the shootings, according to ABC News Australia. The suspect is known to police.

“We believe that all the parties are known to each other, and we are treating it as a domestic violence-related incident at this time,” Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland told ABC News Australia.

The suspect was last seen driving a Ford Ranger utility vehicle with New South Wales registration DM-07-GZ, described as having council signage, a metal tray back, high-visibility markings on the sides, and an emergency light bar on the roof.

Authorities urged the public not to approach the suspect and to contact emergency services if he is seen. Police are also asking anyone in the Lake Cargelligo area with mobile phone footage, dashcam video, CCTV, or photos related to the incident to come forward.

Lake Cargelligo is located roughly 300 miles (about 480 kilometers) west of Sydney in a sparsely populated region of New South Wales and has a population of about 1,400.