Melbourne dad allegedly held hostage with his baby boy by an alleged gunman in their Weir Views home breaks silence about terrifying ordeal

An emotional father-of-five has fought back tears as he recalled the terrifying moment his and his son’s lives were threatened by a suspected gunman during a two-hour siege of a suburban home where shots were exchanged with the heavily armed police.

A 26-year-old man is expected to be charged after barricading himself with a high-powered rifle at a Weir Views home in Melbourne’s west on Tuesday.

Ali and his one-year-old son had just arrived woke up after an afternoon nap to find his daughter’s bedroom door locked after the suspected armed intruder entered his Leon Drive home unnoticed.

“My wife went to pick up my children from school and I was sleeping with my youngest son,” he told Nine News.

‘One of my daughters’ bedrooms was locked and I tried to open it [it]… I heard a noise that someone was inside and said, ‘I have a gun and I will kill you if you come in.’

“The man had a gun, he can shoot my son, he can shoot me. I couldn’t sleep last night.’

Ali recalled how the alleged shooter remained on the other side of the bedroom door during the conversation.

After retreating from the door, Ali dialed triple-0 and called his wife, who told him that the police had cordoned off the street.

Police negotiated with the man for two hours before Ali and his son were freed through a smashed window at the front of the house, while the boy was taken to safety by police.

Ali is grateful for the efforts of the police.

“Thank God we are safe and the police certainly did a good job,” Ali said.

The area was closed off and residents had to remain indoors while specialist officers surrounded the house.

Shocked neighbors told Nine News the scene looked like a ‘Hollywood movie’.

“It was wild, it wasn’t right,” one person said.

“My son just screamed, it was horrifying as a mother, sorry, as a mother it was horrifying,” another told the station.

Chief Inspector Michael Cruse said police negotiators worked for two hours to encourage the man to leave peacefully.

Shortly after 6 p.m., police thought they had made a breakthrough when the alleged gunman agreed to let his hostages leave unharmed.

Police suspect that the man then opened fire on officers.

‘At that moment the police tactically entered the house. We will allege at that point that another shot was fired at the police team and they were able to deploy a police dog and the male perpetrator was brought down,” said Chief Inspector Cruse.

The alleged gunman, 26, remains in hospital after being bitten by a police dog during arrest

Supt Cruse revealed that one of the elite officers fired back but did not hit the man.

“The offense is very serious and it is completely unacceptable that police officers have been exposed to this type of danger,” Supt Cruse said.

Supt Cruse said the man allegedly fired several shots at police after carjacking a 70-year-old woman in Snake Valley about 2.30pm on Tuesday.

The man is then said to have gone to Melton, where police deployed a police helicopter to follow him more than 100km to the Weir Views home, where a dramatic siege took place.

Neighbors on Leon Drive told media that the armed man was seen playing on a trampoline in a nearby backyard before allegedly breaking into the house.

“When they raided the house, it was just chaotic,” one resident recalled.

“You heard the glass breaking, canines barking, people clearly screaming, then we heard this explosion and more glass.

Supt Cruse confirmed reports that the man was reportedly behaving in a bizarre manner before taking the hostages, but would not go into specific details.

“There was a period where he was behaving erratically in the backyard of the property, yes,” he said.

The alleged perpetrator, 26, from Snake Valley, was taken to hospital after being bitten by a police dog during his dramatic arrest.

He is expected to leave hospital in the coming days, where he will be interviewed by police and most likely charged.