A growing pattern of so-called “punishment shootings” linked to organised crime networks is driving a significant increase in non-fatal gunshot injuries across Victoria, with public hospitals now treating firearm assault victims on a near-fortnightly basis.
Newly analysed emergency department data shows that Victorian hospitals treated 26 gunshot wound patients in the last financial year alone, excluding cases of self-harm and accidental discharge. This represents a sharp escalation compared to five years ago, with recorded firearm assault cases rising by more than 60 per cent over that period.
Criminology and hospital surveillance data indicate that many of these incidents are not random acts of violence, but calculated attacks carried out as warnings within criminal networks. Police sources describe these shootings as deliberate acts of intimidation, designed to send a message to victims without triggering homicide investigations.
Medical data reveals clear injury patterns consistent with this trend. Almost one-third of patients over the past five years suffered gunshot wounds to multiple body parts. However, the most common single injury sites were the knee, lower leg, hip and thigh — areas consistent with so-called “kneecapping” attacks intended to disable rather than kill. Other victims were shot in the abdomen to reinforce the seriousness of the warning.
Hospitals in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, particularly Northern Hospital in Epping, have become a frequent destination for victims who avoid ambulances and instead arrive by private transport. Law enforcement sources say this practice is driven by fear of police detection, as ambulance call-outs automatically trigger police involvement.
Hospital staff are legally required to notify authorities of gunshot injuries, but cooperation from victims is often minimal. More than half of patients recorded in the surveillance data refused to disclose where they were when they were shot, severely limiting investigative capacity.
The demographic profile also highlights the scale of the problem. Nearly 60 per cent of victims were aged between 20 and 39, with teenagers also represented among the injured. A significant proportion of shootings occurred in private residences, reinforcing concerns that organised crime violence is increasingly embedded within suburban communities.
Police warn that the rise in non-fatal shootings reflects a broader evolution in criminal enforcement tactics, where violence is used strategically rather than impulsively.
Authorities say the trend represents a serious public safety risk, placing pressure on emergency services, hospital systems, and community safety frameworks, while also complicating law enforcement efforts to dismantle organised crime networks operating across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
