By Brendan Rees
A horrified mother has detailed the moment her car was shot at while she was driving in a dimly lit area of Cranbourne with her teenage daughter.
Chantal Rochecouste was travelling along Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road about 1.30am on Saturday 15 February when she and her daughter heard a bang, which they later discovered had appeared to be a bullet-hole in the rear window of their Ford Territory.
“We’re just driving along, singing along; we’re listening to some tunes … and then I recall a massive flash of light; at the same time we heard a massive bang,” Ms Rochecouste said.
“There were no other cars so I knew I hadn’t hit anyone.
“Initially I thought the street light had fallen,” she said.
Her 18-year-old daughter Monique, who was sitting in the front passenger’s seat, turned around and yelled out “mum your window … it’s smashed”.
After pulling over, Ms Rochecouste said they found the window “hanging by a thread” with a bullet hole in the top left corner – and immediately called triple-zero.
“I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t see anything. There was just nothing there,” she explained.
Ms Rochecouste, 41, said as they waited for police to arrive they felt like “sitting ducks” as they locked themselves in the car with the headlights on and engine running.
When police did attend, Ms Rochecouste said they confirmed the bullet-hole was the likely result of someone discharging a ball bearing firearm.
The officers combed through the car, looking for clues and a possible ball bearing but could not find anything to assist their investigation.
“They said it had definitely been shot at, most likely a ball-bearing. Apparently that’s happening a few times in the area,” Ms Rochecouste said.
“At that force, it could go anywhere,” police told her.
“As far as I know, they’ve got a couple of warrants they’re going to be doing … on houses,” Ms Rochecouste said.
Ms Rochecouste, a hypnotherapist and spiritual healer, was later told by detectives that she was the third victim in about two months who had been targeted in a similar shooting.
The incident has shaken Ms Rochecouste, who had been driving to her Narre Warren home after finishing work.
“I just don’t think these people or these kids or whoever who’s doing it understand that there could be really dire consequences.
“I could’ve easily turn and hit something … it could’ve been a lot worse.
“It’s very, very frightening”.
Casey Crime Investigation Unit, who has been contacted for comment, have confirmed the incident and are investigating.
