Police have charged four people over an incident in Sydney’s red light district where a stolen car mounted a busy footpath and police shot two teenagers.

Police shot a boy and a young man at Kings Cross in Sydney's east this morning after the car they were in drove on to the footpath to escape pursuing officers.

Police treat an injured male after the shootings in Kings Cross. Credit:Channel Ten

Police said a 14-year-old driver and his 18-year-old front-seat passenger were taken to hospital with gunshot injuries after officers fired shots at their car, which was driven on to the footpath of Darlinghurst Road shortly after 4am.

The 14-year-old was shot once in the chest and once in the arm, and the 18-year-old was shot once in the neck, police said.



Witnesses reported that the Honda Civic sedan, which was later confirmed stolen, entered heavy pedestrian traffic along the footpath and hit a woman, 29, who was taken to hospital with chest injuries. Police said the woman was pinned under the car.



Police said four other males, aged between 13 and 24, were in the back seat of the car at the time. They were uninjured and are being interviewed.



The injured are being treated at St Vincent's Hospital. The boy is in a serious but stable condition, while his passenger's injuries are not life-threatening. The condition of the woman is not known.



Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch said: "People literally jumped for their lives.



"Police pursued that vehicle on the footpath by foot, they attempted to stop the vehicle.



"That vehicle struck a female pedestrian. That female pedestrian was pushed under the front of the vehicle. In an attempt to protect that person they [police] discharged a number of shots into the vehicle.



"Whether that decision turned out to be the right decision is a matter for the critical investigation team ... My advice is that the police has little other option."



Police confirmed the males are indigenous and were unarmed at the time.



Assistant Commissioner Murdoch said the two constables recognised the Redfern youths driving the car.



"The police recognised the vehicle, they recognised the people in the car," he said.



"I would suggest, given the driver of the vehicle was 14, that's probably a good reason why they approached the car.



"As they approached the car, it is my information that the people in the car saw the police approaching; they've taken action to avoid apprehension."



Assistant Commissioner Murdoch said officers would be in touch with the Redfern community to fill them in on what happened.



"I would hope [the community] understands that we need to investigate exactly what happened and why it happened," he said.



"They would also understand, given the relationship that police have with the Redfern community, is that as soon as we know something, they'll know. And they get the right information rather than speculate."



Assistant Commissioner Murdoch said more officers would be deployed in Redfern tonight if the need arose.



He described the shooting as a tragedy.



"[It's] an absolute tragedy for all involved," he said.



"No one likes to see this sort of thing happening, particularly in such a public area. The police don't go to work expecting to shoot someone."