Man charged over shooting near Geraldton

A 30-year-old man has been charged in relation to a shooting that left another man with a bullet wound to his leg in WA's Midwest.

The victim was shot in the early hours of Wednesday morning near Moonyoonooka, just east of Geraldton, and was found with the gunshot wound just before 1am.

He was taken to Geraldton Regional Hospital with serious injuries, but has since been released from hospital, according to the WA Country Health Service.

The shooting sparked a major police operation, with tactical response officers fanning out across Geraldton and eventually converging on a property in the nearby suburb of Utakarra.

Five people were taken into custody, and Christopher John Shanks, a 30-year-old man from the suburb of Wonthella, has been charged with an unlawful act or omission endangering a person's life, health or safety, along with wilfully destroying evidence.

Shanks appeared briefly before the Geraldton Magistrates Court for his first hearing on Thursday morning.

His lawyer, Maxim Squires, did not apply for bail on behalf of Shanks, who is due to reappear before the court later this month.

Police allege Shanks drove the victim to bushland off Allen Road and took part in assaulting him, before leaving the injured man and driving away.

Acting Superintendent Ben Huggett said some of the five people arrested were released, but would not confirm how many remained in custody.

“Some of those people were subsequently released, but at this stage, we’re still undertaking inquiries and we’re not in a position to confirm how many people remain in custody,” he said.

Huggett also said police believed three people were involved in the shooting, but it was early in the investigation, and details were still being firmed up.

“At this stage, we believe that there were three people involved in the shooting, but I must stress that it’s very early in the investigation and we’re still working to confirm a number of details,” he said.

Police have declined to reveal any further details about the incident or what led to it, but confirmed the alleged shooter and victim are known to each other.