The man went downstairs to investigate and was confronted by an armed intruder, who shot him before fleeing. The man shouted to his wife, who is believed to have seen the gunman before he fled. The resident died in the house before paramedics arrived. The couple's three-year-old son was at home asleep at the time.

"It's a burglary in the early hours of the morning, I think any normal person, if they heard someone at the back of their house, they would probably go and investigate," Inspector Hughes told reporters.

The family are from a Vietnamese background, and it is believed police are yet to make contact with some of the man's relatives. Police spent the morning interviewing the man's wife, as well as his brother, Detective Inspector Mick Hughes said. "The wife's very distraught, naturally," Inspector Hughes said. Police are investigating whether the father had been dealing drugs from the property.

He said the father was known to police, having been contacted by officers about five years ago over a "very minor matter".

"In effect, he's been spoken to by police at some stage," Inspector Hughes said.

"He's what we call a field contact ... any one of us could be a field contact if we've spoken to police and there's a reason to record that."

However, he said it was not yet clear whether it was a targeted attack or a burglary gone wrong.

He could not confirm whether anything was stolen from the house.



The victim was unarmed when he was shot, Inspector Hughes said. It is not known if he spoke to the gunman before he was killed.



The gunman is believed to have entered the house after breaking a rear window.



Inspector Hughes said it appeared the shooter had jumped two neighbouring fences before fleeing in a car.



A police dog tracked the offender a short distance but lost the scent at the point where detectives believe the gunman got into the car.



Inspector Hughes said a getaway driver may have been waiting in the car, which was parked on Allison Street.



Neighbours have told police they heard gunshots, someone screaming and the sound of a car speeding off.



Inspector Hughes could not confirm how many shots were fired.



He said there was no cause for alarm despite the shooter remaining on the run.



"All we'd say to people is that you need to be careful," he said.



He would not comment on the man's injuries, or what type of firearm the intruder was believed to have used.



Emotional scenes unfolded outside the family's house on Tuesday morning, where a woman collapsed in shock in the middle of the road, radio station 3AW reported.



Neighbour Alana Dalli said it was normally a peaceful street.



"I would feel safe to knock on any of these doors if I was going for a walk ... because we know everybody in this street," she told 3AW.



"Believe it or not, Sunshine is a safe place...



"So to wake up to this in the morning is a bit tragic and sad, you now, you get pulled back thinking, 'what world do we live in now?'."



The victim's house, located on a neat corner block, is one of the largest in the street.



Two side gates lead to the rear of the property, which is protected by a wooden fence about two metres high.



A trampoline and shed sit in the backyard.