A man who allegedly shot a woman in the head on the doorstep of her home was known to her, police say.
The 21-year-old was shot in the middle of her forehead after answering a knock at her front door in Dapto, on the NSW south coast, about 6.20pm (AEDT) on Wednesday.
Her 27-year-old partner and four children were inside the Fowlers Road property but weren't hurt.
Acting Superintendent Bryan Rugg of the Lake Illawarra local command said police had arrested a 26-year-old man.
He appeared in Wollongong Local Court charged with shooting with intent to murder on Thursday and was remanded in custody.
Acting Supt Rugg said the man and woman knew each other but it wasn't known if they had previously been in a relationship.
"They are known to each other ... at this stage we're not aware whether it was domestic violence related or otherwise," he told AAP.
"At this stage the actual reason for the shooting is unknown."
The woman was flown to St George Hospital and remained in a critical condition on Thursday afternoon.
The 26-year-old man was arrested after being pulled over in a car near Oak Flats, south of Dapto, about an hour after the shooting.
Police say investigations are continuing.
Residents on Fowlers Road reported hearing a loud pop around the time of the shooting.
"I was sitting in my front room and I just thought it was a car backfiring," one neighbour told the Illawarra Mercury.
Another said, "I heard a very loud clapping sound, my daughter ran in to the backyard and said to me someone just got shot."
The victim's mother, Karen Carlson, told Nine Network on Thursday that the 21-year-old was a happy-go-lucky girl, who had never hurt anybody in her life.
Ms Carlson said her daughter had been shot after going to a window to investigate a knock at the door.
"She's still got the bullet lodged in her brain. It's not ever going to come out," Ms Carlson said.
"I'm feeling so helpless."
Front page
National home
RSS Feed