Police are investigating potential links between Sydney’s underworld and the family of a 11-year-old boy shot in the face.
The young boy was shot inside of a unit in on Fairway Dr in Norwest, northwest Sydney, about 5pm on Monday.
Emergency services arrived soon after and found the boy with a gunshot wound to his face and neck and moved him to hospital in a critical condition.
He remains in hospital on life support, 7NEWS understands, as police continue investigating what preceded the crime.
Police are still searching for both the gun used in the shooting and a teenager that detectives said can aid ongoing inquiries.
7NEWS can also reveal police are probing whether the boy’s family could have links to Sydney’s underworld.
Five potential witnesses were inside the unit at the time and weren’t injured, but they have also not been assisting police with investigations.
Only one person, a 18-year-old man, has been charged over the incident, with police alleging he concealed a serious indictable offence.
Former NSW Police Force Detective Peter Moroney appeared on Sunrise on Wednesday morning, saying investigators would be struggling with the lack of information from those involved.
“I think this is the difficulty, because everyone’s remained tight-lipped,” Moroney said.
“Police are still looking at (if) it was an accidental discharge of the firearm... Or was there something else more behind it?
“That’s the difficulty when no-one talks, we’ve then got to rely upon the physical evidence that’s there in that unit.”
He also said the residence of the boy’s father had been subject to a drive-by shooting in the year prior.