Witnesses to an incident in which an 11-year-old boy was shot in the face are not co-operating with police, a state premier says.
Emergency services discovered the boy suffering a gunshot wound at a unit in Norwest, in Sydney's Hills District, about 5pm on Monday.
The boy was shot from inside the home and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
Four 18-year-old men and a 44-year-old woman were also present at the luxury apartment complex when authorities arrived.
Three of the men were arrested, but two were released pending further investigation.
When police arrived there were four 18-year-old men, a 44-year-old woman and the victim at the house. (Source: Nine)
On Tuesday morning, police said one of the 18-year-olds had been charged with concealing a serious indictable offence.
Isaac Bechara faced Blacktown Local Court on Tuesday morning.
He did not apply for bail so will remain behind bars until his case returns to Parramatta Local Court on October 1.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he understood the adults who were in the house were not co-operating with police and called with anyone with information about the incident to come forward.
The shooting was a tragic reminder of the danger of guns, he said.
"Often the people who are the victims of guns are innocent people. Many times, they're children," he told ABC TV.
Superintendent Naomi Moore on Monday said the 11-year-old boy's mother was distressed by the incident and was by her son's bedside in hospital.
"She is as distressed, as any parent would be, about what she is dealing with at the moment," she told reporters.
"It is an [absolutely] tragic situation and as we've seen some tragedy across Sydney in the last couple of days, this is not far from the worst that I have seen."
Detectives had no reason to suspect the shooting related to organised crime, she said, but would not speculate about what occurred in the house.
Police established a crime scene at the address and an investigation is continuing.
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