A frightening incident occurred this past weekend when the residence of a senior racing official was riddled with bullets from a semi-automatic weapon.
A report by the Herald Sun states that nobody was injured when an unknown individual fired six shots into the front door of the home of Racing Victoria’s chief steward, Terry Bailey.
The shooting happened at roughly 9:20 p.m. on Sunday, October 25. Bailey was in the backyard of the home with his wife and two teenage daughters when the incident occurred.
The article cites one of Bailey’s neighbours as saying that Bailey had received death threats a few months ago. In turn, police had previously stationed plainclothes officers to monitor his residence.
The report states that shell casings were found on Bailey’s front porch. After the shooting, Bailey emerged from his residence with a baseball bat.
The shooting has come roughly one week before the Melbourne Cup. Bailey’s demeanour has been publicly praised since the shooting.
“The attack on Terry Bailey’s house is a great concern to the racing industry,” Racing Minister Martin Pakula was quoted as saying.
Pakula went on to say the following:
“The matter is now in the hands of the police and extra security is in place for Terry and his family.
“If anybody thinks that Terry Bailey or the racing integrity department will be deterred in any way (from doing their jobs) they have another thing coming.
“The stewards, Racing Victoria and the government will not be deterred from making sure our industry is clean.
“Terry Bailey is one of the toughest cookies I know. He will be concerned for the safety of his family, but will not be dissuaded from his duties.”
(With files from the Herald Sun)