Two police officers were behind the wheel of a divisional van when their vehicle was peppered with shotgun pellets on Horne Street, near the Sunbury McDonald's, north-west of Melbourne, about 3.15am on Tuesday. The pair drove to the McDonald's and sought refuge inside but when a sergeant and another officer arrived for back up, they were also shot at. While the police took cover, their van was shot at again. Police said a silver sedan then rammed the car before speeding off. A police patrol car was shot at and rammed outside a McDonald's restaurant in Sunbury. Credit:Eddie Jim In the minutes that followed the flurry of gunfire, a tone was also played across the police radio airwaves alerting officers to an imminent threat to life.

The sound, which also signals the potential for significant loss of life, was introduced in 2016 as a way for Victoria Police to notify officers of a significant event in their area. The dog squad, specialist response units and police helicopters were sent as back up, and three McDonald's employees and four police were escorted from the restaurant. The Age has been told the police airwing tracked the silver Holden sedan through the streets of Sunbury before spotting two of the men run into separate homes on Phillip Drive and Withers Close. It's understood the third man dumped the Holden sedan in a dead-end street. He was arrested a short time later. A police spokeswoman said detectives were not looking for anyone else.

It is believed the firearm involved was a shotgun, which has not yet been found, with officers spending much of Tuesday searching nearby creeks for the weapon used. The witness said a silver sedan, matching the description of the trio’s vehicle, had been seen coming and going from the same home late on Monday. He was then woken by police in his street about 5.30am Tuesday. Police took cover inside McDonald's in Sunbury when their patrol car was shot at and rammed. Credit:Paul Rovere "Last night a Jaguar turned up and they were swapping the number plates with the silver car. I went to bed at 11.45pm and woke up to the sound of the megaphone," the man said.

"They were saying 'we’ve got the house surrounded' and 'come out of the house'. "One woman came out of the house and then another man, but two hours later the other bloke was still inside. They had the place surrounded." The Sunbury resident said there were always cars with unregistered number plates parked outside the property, which had long caused neighbours concern. "There has been issues at the place long before now. We’ve seen police and what looked like federal police visiting the house multiple times," he said. "Police with an assault rifle escorted me out of the street and those who needed to leave for work.

"The first bloke I saw them arrest lives there with his mum and a boy who’d only be aged six of seven." The three men arrested include a 33-year-old homeless man, a 26-year-old Sunbury man, and an 18-year-old Sunbury man. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius described the men's alleged conduct as "outrageous". "No police officer comes to work expecting that they're going to be targeted by offenders who are seeking to do them harm, and still less to find ourselves being shot at, or our vehicles being rammed," Mr Cornelius told media in Sunbury.

Mr Cornelius said police were trained to take cover in a building if they believe they were being shot at. "I've spoken to those officers this morning. I have to say I'm absolutely impressed by their professionalism." He would not comment on whether the men were known to police. Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said the four police fired upon - a local sergeant and three frontline officers - had been left shaken and would be provided with support. "These are local police officers, three men and a woman. They’re not robots, they’re mums and dads, they’re brothers and sisters, they’re parents and people who will go home to families that care about them.

"These attacks are attacks on all of us." Mr Gatt said this morning’s shooting highlighted a growing trend of violence towards police. Police are still looking for the weapon, believed to be a shotgun. Credit:Paul Rovere "The officers were simply going about their business on duty when they’ve become targets because of the uniform they wear and for no other reason. "It seems like it’s getting worse by the day."

Nobody was injured. McDonald's staff have been helping police and have been offered welfare support, Mr Cornelius said. In a separate incident, a police officer was hit by an allegedly stolen car in Mont Albert in Melbourne's east about 1am. The white BMW sedan rammed two police cars, and then reversed onto an officer's leg when he used pepper spray on the car. Police have cordoned off a property on Phillip Drive in Sunbury where one man was arrested. Credit:Eddie Jim