4 teenagers charged over Sydney shootings

Police in Sydney have arrested and charged four teenagers over a string of organized crime-linked shootings that targeted homes in April.



The police force in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said in a statement on Thursday that the four boys, aged from 16 to 19, were arrested on Wednesday by officers executing search warrants following an investigation into three shootings south and southwest of Sydney in April.



In all three incidents, which occurred over a three-day span, shots were fired at separate homes.



The second and third incidents occurred within 15 minutes in the early hours of April 12 and involved several shots being fired into the front of homes by the occupants of a vehicle.



No injuries were reported in any of the incidents and the separate investigations were referred to an organized crime task force, which established that all three shootings were linked.



The four teenagers have each been charged with two counts of firing a firearm at a dwelling as an organized crime offense, as well as one count each of participating in a criminal group.