Grim twist as man found dead in car at Nar Nar Goon North – as cops check possible link to shooting of Cranbourne East father Victor Valla who was trying to protect his daughter
A man has been found dead in a car as police investigate whether the incident is linked to the recent horrific shooting that left a father dead.
The man was found dead in his car on Mount Ararat Road, Nar Nar Goon North in regional Victoria at about 3.15pm on Monday.
“At this time the man has not been formally identified and his death is not being treated as suspicious,” Victoria Police said.
Police are investigating whether the man’s death is in any way linked to the shooting of 58-year-old father Victor Valla in Cranbourne East, Melbourne on Monday morning.
Mr Valla is in a coma after being shot in the stomach while trying to protect his daughter, who was followed home.
Blessing Valla, 21, called her father around 12:25 a.m. on Monday and said she thought an unknown man in a white station wagon was following her car in Melbourne’s southeast, police said.
Mr Valla, 58, told his daughter to go back home to Cranbourne East, where he waited for her outside.
When she pulled up to the house five minutes later, the station wagon stopped as well.
A man was found dead in his car on Mount Ararat Road, Nar Nar Goon North (pictured) in regional Victoria at about 3.15pm on Monday
Victoria Police are investigating whether there is a link between the dead man and the shooting of 58-year-old Melbourne father Victor Valla (pictured left), who is in a coma
Mr. Valla walked up to the car and got into a fight with the driver.
The man got out of the vehicle, pushed Mr. Valla and then pulled out a firearm and shot him in the abdomen.
He then fled while neighbors came to his aid.
Blessing stayed with her father until he was rushed to the hospital. His condition is still critical, but stable.
“She said, ‘Daddy, Daddy, don’t go.’ My daughter was left holding her father’s hand,” Mr Valla’s ex-wife, Cecilia, told reporters.
‘She [told me]”Dad almost lost his life for me,” it’s insane, it was a young boy with the gun.
It has been reported that Mr Valla has lost a kidney and will undergo surgery on Tuesday.
Police are treating the incident as a random attack.
No link has been established between Mr Valla or his daughter and the gunman, who remains at large.
The shooting was captured on CCTV (pictured) before the gunmen fled the scene in the white station wagon
Blessing Valla, 21, (pictured) was driving home at midnight when she saw a car pull up behind her
“For a man to come and protect his daughter like that, it’s a terrible thing to be shot in the street,” Detective Inspector Mick Daly told reporters on Monday.
‘We don’t know why she was targeted and why the perpetrator shot the father.
“It’s very concerning. Firearms in the community are a concern.”
Detectives are busy investigating the area. On Monday afternoon they viewed camera footage and spoke to locals.
The police would also like to get in touch with people in the area who may have camera or dashcam footage.