A man shot in the face by police after allegedly terrorising five hostages during a two-hour siege in a Perth home was brandishing a fake firearm.
The 26-year-old remains in a critical but stable condition in Sir Charles Gairdner hospital after being shot in the upper body and face.
Acting commissioner Michelle Fyfe says police were alerted to the unfolding drama when a male occupant of the Samson Street residence in the leafy western suburb of Mosman Park called about 9.15pm on Tuesday, saying an intruder was inside and had a gun.
Several more calls were made by other occupants before they were gagged with duct tape.
The five hostages had their hands and feet bound with cable ties.
After the man emerged from the house and ignored calls to drop his weapon, Tactical Response Group officers fired two shots at him.
"He was asked to drop the gun down on a number of occasions but he failed to do so," Acting Insp Fyfe told reporters.
"He was shot twice and was incapacitated."
Neighbours reported hearing screams as the stand-off began and were told to stay inside their homes when they asked police what was happening.
A man who lives across the road told 6PR it was a scary ordeal.
"It got fairly intense, with police yelling `put your guns down, put your guns down' and then we heard a couple of shots, which was fairly frightening on a quiet little street," he said.
Another neighbour told the Seven Network he heard police yelling "'that's a gun in your hand sir', sort of as if the man who had the gun didn't realise he was holding one".
A 200 metre exclusion zone was set up around the scene and residents were only allowed back into their homes some nine hours later.
Police have not yet spoken to the man, with Acting Insp Fyfe saying she did not know whether he could speak given his facial injuries.
He required surgery for his wounds, she said.
Acting Insp Fyfe said the man faced serious charges including deprivation of liberty, assault.
She said the man knew one of the hostages.
"This is not a random attack and the community needs to be assured by this," she said.
"He was prepared when he went to the house for what was going to unfold."
She said the criminal and internal police investigations would take some time but initial observations were that the actions of the officers who shot the man were justified.
They had followed training and complied with operating procedures, she said.
It required a ballistics expert to confirm the man's gun was a fake.
"It was a very, very, very real looking firearm."
She said both the hostages and TRG officers who shot the man were very traumatised.
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