Aust'n state sees wave of gun crime sparking call for greater police power

The Australian state of Victoria is on course to record its worst month of gun-related violence since 2014, sparking calls for new police power to deal with the issue.

Over the past five days, eight shooting have occurred in Victoria, leaving one person dead and five others injured.

The state's opposition leader Matthew Guy has called for immediate action in parliament to rid the streets of gun-toting criminals.

"If the police need extra powers to deal with any of that, then they'll certainly get that support from the coalition," Guy told reporters on Thursday.

Last year, it was revealed that the Victoria police were discovering a cache of guns stashed in cars every two days in a region in Melbourne's north-west dubbed the "red zone" by police officers.

According to the latest Crime Agency Statistics, gun crime in the "red zone" had almost tripled over the previous five years from 581 in 2010-2011 to 1,332 in 2014-2015.

Overall, this gun data showed that firearm offences had doubled throughout the state during the five-year timeframe.

Most of the incidents in the past week have taken place in the state's epicenters of Melbourne and Geelong.

The most recent of them, which occurred late on Wednesday night, involved a driver firing shots out of a moving black Audi at another car in Melbourne's west.

Both passengers were uninjured during the attack, and a police manhunt is currently underway to find and arrest the Audi's two male passengers.

But Victoria's acting Police Minister Robin Scott told reporters on Thursday that the government would not rush new laws through parliament without careful consideration.

"The government will support the police and will also look at penalties," Scott said.

"We'll be examining this issue going forward. It's not acceptable to have shootings in a city like Melbourne." Endit