Investigators urged the person who was with the victim to come forward and said they were also looking for a white SUV.
Meadows would not speculate about a motive for the attack, but said he did not believe an open reception at the nearby police station would have prevented it.
“The two boys who go past the station don’t stop. They don’t try and go into the police station. They’re not trying to call for help. They’re seen going past twice,” Meadows said.
“There was a police member at the station at the time who heard the gunshots and came straight out and provided first aid and called for back up. So whether the station was open to the public or as it was closed to the public – but still had a member there – I can’t see it would have made any difference.”
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Fitzroy Police Station was one of 43 posts across Victoria where reception hours were slashed in 2023 due to staff shortages. It was previously a 24-hour station, but its front desk now closes at 9.45pm on Friday to Sunday.
State Opposition Leader Jess Wilson attacked the state government’s management of police resources in light of Saturday’s homicide.
“This is another tragic and deeply concerning incident that has occurred within a stone’s throw of a closed police station,” she said.
A state government spokesperson hit back, saying it was a police decision to reduce station hours and get more officers on patrol.
“The Liberals will take any opportunity to undermine and cut Victoria Police,” they said.
Investigators taped off a crime scene about 100 metres from Fitzroy Police Station early on Saturday morning as a crowd of onlookers gathered.
The scene on Saturday morning at King William Street in Fitzroy where a man was shot and killed overnight.Credit: Wayne Taylor
The family of the victim laid flowers at the scene on Saturday morning. Detectives were later seen going door to door at nearby properties. Volunteer chaplains arrived at the scene later in the morning to offer support.
An American university student who had just moved to Fitzroy, but asked to stay anonymous, said he heard the two gunshots before running over to see what had happened.
“I saw two cops working on a guy who was on the ground. They were doing CPR on him for a while.”
He said he was surprised to see how long it took for more police to arrive at the scene. “It was probably another 20 minutes or so before any other back-up arrived,” he said.
“The cops were questioning another kid, they looked like they were interrogating him for a while. Then more people showed up. I’ve felt safe here until now, I guess. I’m from San Francisco, so I know a gunshot sound.”
Long-time Fitzroy resident Uncle Crow said he believed the incident was “youth-related”.
“We’re a tight-knit community around here, and we will support [the family] the best way we can,” he said.
He criticised the decision to include Fitzroy in the list of stations with reduced hours.
“Sometimes it’s open, and sometimes it’s not,” he said. “This is Melbourne’s first suburb, and it was built on violence and crime. They can’t even keep a police station open with a history like that.”
Another man at the scene on Saturday, who told The Age he had been mugged in the area in the past, echoed calls to reintroduce 24-hour police station staffing. He said the popular nightlife strip should have a more visible police presence.
However, Meadows stressed he did not believe an open reception desk would have changed what happened early on Saturday.
“The Richmond Police Station is 3.5 kilometres away. It does have a permanent 24-hour police presence,” he said.
“It’s not really for me to comment on what resources we’ve got and what stations we can and can’t open. But on this occasion, there was a member there, and … the victim and his associate didn’t attend at the station. They didn’t call for assistance. So it wouldn’t make any difference.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force continued to maintain approved reduced reception counter hours at 41 police stations statewide.
“We know the community is best served when police are out in the field detecting and deterring crime, not sitting behind a desk,” the spokesperson said.
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