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

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

Murray, L. (2026, October 20). Police believe underworld gang gave gun to 13yo charged over drive-by shooting. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-20/underworld-link-to-gosnells-drive-by-shooting-probed/107289494

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-10-20 · by Lucy Murray

Quick Summary

Police are investigating whether a 13-year-old boy from Victoria involved in a drive-by shooting in Gosnells, Perth, was recruited by an underworld organization that provided him with a semi-automatic rifle. The incident occurred around 12:40 am on Saturday when the boy allegedly fired more than 20 shots into a house occupied by seven people, including children; one man sustained minor injuries from shattered glass. Detectives suspect the gun was given to the teenager electronically and that he had only recently moved to Western Australia weeks prior. The weapon used is classified as Category D, which has been outlawed in WA since 1996 following the Port Arthur massacre due to its highly restricted nature.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 20, 2026, police charged a 13-year-old Victorian boy with eight offenses including unlawful use of a firearm after he allegedly participated in a drive-by shooting in Gosnells, Perth. Around 12:40 am on Saturday, the boy used a semi-automatic rifle to fire more than 20 shots into a house, shattering a bedroom window and damaging walls while seven people, including children, were inside; one man sustained minor injuries from shattered glass.

Detectives believe an underworld organization recruited the teenager and provided him with a pick-up location for the gun. Police suspect that the firearm involved was smuggled illegally as it is not found in WA's legal environment since 1996 following strict reforms after the Port Arthur massacre. The weapon used, categorized as Category D, has since been outlawed in Western Australia.

The boy’s family had moved him to Perth only weeks prior, and authorities are investigating how he obtained such a rare and illicit firearm.

Written for “Underworld Gang Involved In Shooting” on 2026-10-20, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Underworld Gang Involved In Shooting
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
28%
5 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 3496 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Lucy Murray
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 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.
2026-10-20 · mixed framing · Police believe underworld gang gave gun to 13yo charged over drive-by shooting
🔮 Son Keelan O'Neill urged the crowd to return to the water and "keep doing the things that you love", adding that his father would have wanted everyone to "embrace life to the fullest".
2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Children of shark victim call for return to the ocean at his memorial
🔮 The beach has been completely closed and crowds have been asked to stay away while contractors lift the 31-tonne carcass and transport it to landfill, where it will be buried.
2026-09-30 · assertive framing · Mammoth effort underway to remove whale carcass from Perth beach
🔮 It is possible the carcass will continue to act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming in close to shore along this stretch of coast," the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) warned.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Breaking: Multiple shark warnings issued as whale carcass washes up on City Beach
🔮 "There will be tears if we win, I'll be crying for sure," added Port Services Officer Mike White.
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🔮 Some 10,000 fans are expected to attend a licensed event at Fremantle Oval, and thousands more are expected to pack out pubs and cafes from breakfast time.
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🔮 Police confirmed the man, who has been identified as Chinese national An Yu, suffered critical injuries and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital, but he could not be saved.
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Also by Lucy Murray
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2026-10-11 · ABC News (AU)
Mammoth effort underway to remove whale carcass from Perth beach
2026-09-30 · ABC News (AU)
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2026-09-28 · ABC News (AU)
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Lucy Murray →

Topics

ABC Perth Port Arthur Victorian Western Australia

Subjects

ABC ORG · 2× Bevan Steele PERSON · 1× Gosnells PERSON · 1× Perth GPE · 1× Police ORG · 1× Port Arthur GPE · 1× Steele PERSON · 1× Victorian NORP · 1× WA Firearm Traders Association ORG · 1× Western Australia GPE · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
🔮 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.
2026-10-20 · ABC News (AU)
Police believe underworld gang gave gun to 13yo charged over drive-by shooting · mixed framing

Claims (18 extracted, 5 hedged)

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. uncertain
which → investigate → 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. uncertain
boy → use → Saturday
Seven people were inside the home at the time, including children. asserted
people → include → children
One man received minor injuries from shattered glass, but no one was seriously hurt. asserted
one → receive → glass
However, they are not thought to be the intended targets. Loading... asserted
they → think → ?
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. asserted
ABC → believe → gun
The instructions are understood to have been delivered electronically. asserted
instructions → understand → ?
The semi-automatic firearm involved in the incident has not been found. asserted
firearm → involve → incident
The ABC understands his family had only moved him to WA weeks ago. asserted
family → understand → WA
Rare weapon Two semi-automatic rifles were used in the devastating Port Arthur massacre in 1996 in which 35 people were killed. asserted
people → use → which
The Category D weapons have been outlawed in Western Australia ever since, captured as part of the sweeping reforms following the mass shooting. asserted
weapons → outlaw → shooting
Only police, the military and certain government agencies are legally able to use the long-arm weapons. asserted
police → use → 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. uncertain
Steele → say → license
In other states, Category D weapons are restricted to professional hunters, many of whom shoot out of aircraft. asserted
many → restrict → aircraft
Exactly how the lethal self-loading weapon allegedly got into the hands of a 13-year-old is not known. uncertain
got → load → old
"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. uncertain
Whitby → have → act
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. asserted
Police → arrest → property
He will reappear in Perth Children's Court next week. asserted
He → reappear → Court
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