A father of a three-year-old Sydney girl found dead of a gunshot wound to the neck has been charged with firearm offences.

The 43-year-old will remain behind bars on firearms charges related to an unlicensed sawn-off shotgun.

Paramedics were called to the Lalor Park home in the city’s west about 8pm last night amid reports a child had been shot after finding a weapon. They found the toddler with a fatal wound to her neck.

media_camera A distraught woman sits inside an ambulance after a 3-year-old was found dead. Picture: Top Notch Video.

Forensic officers remained at the house today. Three other children aged between three and eight were in the home at the time of the shooting. One shot was fired, police say.

The girl’s father of Arncliffe was charged today with possessing an unregistered sawn-off shotgun.

He was also charged with possessing the weapon without a licence and not storing the weapon safely.

Police also charged him with contravening domestic violence orders. The 43-year-old appeared before Blacktown Local Court and did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.

He is scheduled to appear before the same court again on September 1.

“At the time of the incident, the child’s mother and other children were in the house and the child’s father was nearby,” NSW Police Quakers Hill Commander, Superintendent Paul Carrett, told reporters.

“The death of a three-year-old child under any circumstances is tragic. It is tragic for the family and it is tragic for the police and other emergency services who attend these scenes.”

media_camera A man is pictured sitting in the gutter outside the Lalor Park home where the toddler was fatally shot. Picture: Top Notch Video

media_camera The distraught man is joined by another man as police arrive. Picture: Top Notch Video

Lesley Studans, the principal of the school attended by the dead girl’s brothers, sent out a note to parents today to inform them of the tragedy.

She wrote that specialist staff and counsellors had been at the school and would “remain here as long as needed to support the students and staff”.

“I appreciate that speaking to your child about matters like this can be very challenging,” the note read.

“It is at these very difficult times that we see best what a caring community we have here at St Joseph’s.”

Parents today spoke highly of the family and were “in shock”.

“The whole family was gorgeous, we only just found out about it, we’re all in shock,” one mother said.

media_camera The body of the three-year-old is removed from the Danny Road home. Source: 7News

Greg Whitby, Executive Director Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta said: “The close-knit community of St Joseph’s Primary, Schofields was devastated to learn of the death of the young sibling of three students overnight.

“The community is united in prayer for this young child and will offer every support to the family.

“Specialist staff and counsellors have been at the school today and will remain onsite to work with staff and students as needed.”

A student said the girl would run up to students when she visited at pick up time.

“She would run around and was really cute, she would ask to play and would always say hi,” she said.

Another mum said she was “beautiful” and a “sweet” girl.

Neighbour Mel Toilalo described hearing what she first thought was a “car crash” it was so loud.

She ran outside and said she heard a man from the home screaming “she’s dead” and “she’s shot herself”.

WITNESS ACCOUNT: ‘HE RAN FROM THE HOUSE...BLOOD ALL OVER HIS HANDS’

“I just heard the gun shot and then I rang the police,” she said.

“I ran outside at the same time, I saw a man on the floor, he was screaming she is dead or she has shot herself.

“So I tried to knock on the front door because it was closed.

Ms Toilalo said the mum eventually came to open the door but struggled to open it because she was in shock and panicking.

media_camera Forensics officers outside the house today. Picture: John Grainger

media_camera Police forensics officers at the scene today. Picture: John Grainger

media_camera Officers prepare to search the Danny Road house this morning. Picture: John Grainger

“She was screaming it was his fault because he had a gun in the house.”

Ms Toilalo said a lady opened the door and ran outside where she was seen arguing with a man.

She said the family had moved into the house about six months ago.

media_camera The three-year-old girl was found dead at the scene when police arrived. Picture: David Swift.

Police have interviewed both parents and specialist officers will interview the girl’s three brothers today.

Video from the scene shows a man sitting in the gutter with his head in his hands. A woman is later heard screaming “I hate you, I hate you” and “rot in hell”. She is also heard yelling “not my baby girl”.

Detectives from Quakers Hill Local Area Command swarmed on the home as they launched a major investigation into the girl’s death. Police were seen speaking with the girl’s distraught family while neighbours said the young girl’s mother was “hysterical”.

One neighbour said he ran outside to “chaos” with people running around and crying. He helped neighbours take three children from the house into a nearby property.

The mother of the girl then came into the neighbour’s house and was “hysterical”, he said.

media_camera One neighbour said he ran outside to “chaos” with people running around and crying. Picture: David Swift

“We saw there was chaos and we thought one of the neighbours were in trouble and we went out to help,” he said.

“The lady who lives opposite us is a friend of ours, she lives next door to the house where it happened.

“There was people running around and crying.”

He said a neighbour told them a young girl had been fatally wounded. “Our neighbour took all the children into her house ... there were three of them, the oldest would have been around eight,” he said.

media_camera The three-year-old was at a home in Lalor Park with several other young children when she suffered a gunshot wound to her neck. Picture: David Swift

“We were there with the kids for some time.” The man said at one point the mother of the girl came inside and was extremely distressed.

“The mum came into the house and it was chaotic and all of that,” he said. “She was just rambling, she was hysterical.’’

The neighbour said he could not believe what had happened. “It’s very upsetting, we’ve got children of our own who are the same age range. It is traumatic.” Forensic officers arrived at the property about 10.40pm.

Earlier, a woman, believed to be the girl’s mother, was escorted to an ambulance and taken from the scene. The girl’s death was the most shocking incident in a night of violence in Sydney, with a man wounded in a separate shooting at Lane Cove about 10pm.

NOTE: Police earlier reporter the girl’s age as six. She is three.