Police believe underworld gang gave gun to 13yo charged over drive-by shooting

Police believe boy charged over Gosnells shooting has underworld links, supplied with semi-automatic gun WA police are investigating whether a 13-year-old Victorian boy allegedly involved in a drive-by shooting in suburban Perth on the weekend was recruited by an underworld organisation which gave him a self-loading firearm. The boy allegedly used a semi-automatic rifle to fire more than 20 shots into a Gosnells house, hitting a bedroom window and wall, around 12:40am on Saturday. Seven people were inside the home at the time, including children. One man received minor injuries from shattered glass, but no one was seriously hurt. However, they are not thought to be the intended targets. Loading...Detectives believe the boy was recruited by an underworld organisation and given a pick-up and drop off location for the gun, the ABC understands. The instructions are understood to have been delivered electronically. The semi-automatic firearm involved in the incident has not been found. The ABC understands his family had only moved him to WA weeks ago. Rare weapon Two semi-automatic rifles were used in the devastating Port Arthur massacre in 1996 in which 35 people were killed. The Category D weapons have been outlawed in Western Australia ever since, captured as part of the sweeping reforms following the mass shooting. Only police, the military and certain government agencies are legally able to use the long-arm weapons. WA Firearm Traders Association president Bevan Steele said the weapon allegedly used by the 13-year-old boy was "a highly illicit firearm" that could only have been smuggled into the country illegally. "We haven't seen these firearms in WA, in the legal environment, since 1996 … if you had one of these on your dealer's license, it is gone, well and truly," Mr Steele said. In other states, Category D weapons are restricted to professional hunters, many of whom shoot out of aircraft. Exactly how the lethal self-loading weapon allegedly got into the hands of a 13-year-old is not known. "A 13-year-old boy having access to a weapon like that and carrying out that act, allegedly, is extremely concerning," said Police Minister Reece Whitby. Police arrested the teenager on Monday and charged him with eight offences including unlawful use of a firearm, endangering life, possession of stolen property and no authority to drive. He will reappear in Perth Children's Court next week.