Landsdale shooting now linked to Girrawheen, Wanneroo drive-by shootings as victim identified

The identity of the man who was shot dead in Landsdale has been revealed, with police now investigating whether the suburban murder is connected to two drive-by shootings north of Perth eight days earlier. Ralph William Matthews Cox died at Royal Perth Hospital early Wednesday morning after a shooting at a Landsdale home about 2am. The West Australian can also reveal that police are investigating whether the fatal shooting — the first in metropolitan Perth since the 2020 assassination of Nick Martin at the Perth Motorplex in Kwinana — is connected to two drive-by shootings in Perth’s northern suburbs earlier this month. The first of the two January 4 incidents unfolded in Girrawheen, when a home on Montrose Avenue was fired at about 1am. The second came two hours later at 3.10am, when another property, this time on Wanneroo Road in Wanneroo, was shot up. No one was injured in the back-to-back shootings, with the residents inside the homes telling The West Australian at the time that they believed it was a case of “mistaken identity”. The 47-year-old was shot after opening the front door of his house on Montacute Turn about 2am. His partner was home at the time of the fatal shooting, but was not hurt. Several other people also live at the Montacute Turn rental property. Upon their arrival, police from the regional operations group and St John WA paramedics found Mr Matthews Cox with gunshot wounds. He was taken by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital but later died. Police are still hunting the alleged gunman, who detectives believe may be associated with an outlaw motorcycle gang. They said on Wednesday that the fatal shooting was believed to be “targeted” but did not reveal if they had determined a motive, saying they were still pursuing several leads. Forensic officers examined the crime scene early on Wednesday and remained at the home throughout the day while detectives from the homicide and major crime squads went door to door around the neighbourhood in search of CCTV and witnesses. Photos taken of the home’s exterior show where paramedics worked to save Mr Matthews Cox’s life, with gloves, medical equipment and a large towel strewn across the front entrance. A Ford Mondeo believed to be from the home of the shooting was towed from a police-protected forensic area surrounding the property at 6pm, with the street remaining blocked off overnight. Det-Insp. Quentin Flatman on Wednesday said the shooting was “tragic in the extreme” but stressed public safety was not at risk. “No one should be ever confronted with being in their own home at night-time asleep and be faced with this sort of event,” he said. “It’s terrible, it’s a tragic incident, it is rare — we don’t see this sort of behaviour often. “(But) the greater community shouldn’t be alarmed about what’s occurred. We do believe it’s connected to people who know each other, but it’s tragic in the extreme and very disturbing of course for all of us.” On Thursday, a neighbour told The West Australian there were always people coming and going from the house and he wasn’t quite sure how many people had lived there. Another neighbour described hearing loud thuds on the night Mr Cox had been killed and woke her husband. “It sounded like it came from our garage and I sent him to check but everything was OK,” she said. “Then we heard the sirens.”