A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged after allegedly threatening three people with a sawn-off shotgun during a confrontation over a stolen van in Dulwich Hill, Sydney.
Police allege Jake Kermode set fire to the van near an apartment complex at the junction of Williams Parade and Constitution Road on Friday, before waving the weapon at witnesses and fleeing on foot.
The incident prompted an hours-long lockdown across the inner-west suburb. Businesses, cafes and schools were closed while tactical police and a helicopter searched nearby streets, with the restrictions lifted at about 3pm.
Detectives from Strike Force Ranilo arrested Kermode on Burwood Road in Burwood at about 11.30pm on Sunday after he allegedly tried to evade officers. The shotgun was not found and the search for it is continuing.
Kermode was taken to Concord Hospital for injuries suffered during the arrest before being transferred to Newtown Police Station.
He was charged on Monday with seven offences, including possessing a shortened firearm without authority, acquiring a banned firearm subject to a prohibition order and destroying or damaging property.
He also faces allegations of armed robbery, driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent and during a period of disqualification, and possessing a housebreaking implement.
Police had earlier released CCTV footage of a man leaving the scene as they sought to identify and locate the alleged gunman.
The van, which was set alight during the confrontation, has been seized for forensic examination after firefighters extinguished the blaze. Investigators expect evidence recovered from it to assist the Strike Force Ranilo inquiry and form part of the case against Kermode.
