'Terrible nightmares': Sole survivor of NSW shooting relives tragedy

Police have swarmed a location in western NSW today following a possible sighting of the 37-year-old who is accused of killing his pregnant ex-partner and two others.

The sole survivor of a shooting that claimed three lives in north-west NSW detailed the harrowing moment he witnessed one of the killings, revealing he has "terrible nightmares" about the tragedy.

Police continue the hunt for accused shooter Julian Ingram, also known as Julian Pierpoint, who has been on the run for five days after three people were gunned down and 19–year-old Kaleb Macqueen was seriously injured at Lake Cargelligo.

They swarmed a location in western NSW today following a possible sighting of the 37-year-old who is accused of killing his pregnant ex-partner Sophie Quinn and her friend John Harris before traveling to Sophie's aunt Nerida's place and killing her too.

Warning: This article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.

Macqueen was outside Nerida's home when Ingram turned up.

"She's obviously went towards the ute. I heard boom, boom. I seen her – she was holding her neck and he was laughing and gave her one good shot to the head, and she was gone," he told 9News.

Macqueen said it was a "fight or flight" moment and he had to save himself but "within seconds it was too late" anyway.

"Not that I could have done anything with Nerida anyways but I woulda probably ended up dying if I went over to Nerida as well, which is yeah, pretty sad," he said.

Macqueen suffered wounds to his head, arm, shoulder and leg."I have terrible nightmares of a night," he said.

Police respond to potential sighting

Early this morning, tactical police and the air wing deployed deployed to the Mount Hope area, north-west of Lake Cargelligo, after "public witnesses" reported seeing Ingram.

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"Tactical police are in that location now carrying out searches of multiple properties in the area," Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said, earlier today.

"Obviously with an armed offender in that area we are asking for members of the public to exercise extreme caution.

The sighting has not been confirmed, Holland said, but officers will continue to search the area "until we're clear those areas are safe".

The Mount Hope area was not in lockdown, but Holland asked locals to "be careful about their movements" and report unusual activity to police.

Police updated the description of the ute he is believed to travelling in to a white single-cab Ford Ranger utility with a tray back and the registration DN07GZ.

Police believe Ingram is "on his own at the present time", but Holland said they couldn't rule out the possibility he is being helped by locals.

"What we've seen from last night is the information that there may be a possibility that the offender will move at night, obviously in cooler periods, hence why we have PolAir stationed in the area," Holland said.

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Police have spent the week searching a "very broad" area of the NSW central west surrounding Lake Cargelligo.

"We get information about where locations are, and it may be a property that consists of 400 or 500 hectares," Holland said.

The 37-year-old's home in town - a two-minute drive from where it is alleged he shot and killed Sophie, Harris and Nerida - was turned upside down by police.

Macqueen was there and came face-to-face with the gunman. His mother, Jessica Johnson, told 9News it was a case of being in the wrong place as the wrong time for her son.

"He said he was just there visiting, went out to put a light bulb in the back of his car, and the shots were fired," she said.

"All he remembers is jumping to the side."

He is recovering after he was airlifted to hospital.

"He's fine, he had surgery yesterday," she said.

"They removed pellets from his shoulder, hip and the back of his leg, and he's got a broken hand but hopefully he's on his way home."

May be receiving help

Officers are widening their search for the killer, moving through rural properties across the region, warning he is dangerous.

"We're looking at other locations in the broader districts from information supplied to police at this time."

Authorities say the suspect may even be receiving help.

"There is the possibility that people are assisting him to avoid police apprehension," Holland said.

More than 100 officers have been involved in search efforts both on the ground and from the air, battling extreme heat.

Senior police sources told 9News they have a checklist of areas where they've been focusing their search.

These have included Griffith, where many of Ingram's relatives live, and Euabalong, where he is known to frequent, but they've had little success.

The added issue for police is that Ingram is known to be an experienced bushman who can survive in remote areas with little-to-no resources.

In the coming days, police plan to expand their search area and increase their resources to leave no stone unturned in their search for the alleged killers.

Out on bail

Ingram was out on bail on alleged domestic violence charges at the time of the incident.

The 37-year-old's criminal record stretches back ten years.

Police granted him bail but slapped him with an apprehended domestic violence order which banned him from going within 100 metres of Sophie.

"When bail was made back in November there was a risk assessment done at the time, at that time the risk was deemed suitable," Holland said.

Eight weeks later - after reporting for bail in the morning - Ingram allegedly shot dead Sophie and two others.

Despite his history, Ingram didn't meet the threshold for the government's tough new laws, introduced after Molly Ticehurst was murdered by a former partner who was out on bail.

The reforms only apply to serious domestic violence offences that carry maximum sentences of 14 years or more.

Solicitor and advocate for domestic violence victims, Tendayi Chivunga, says this incident exposes a flaw in the laws.

"The gap here is repeat offenders or those who continually breach DV AVOs are still out on our streets," she said.

If Ingram had met the threshold he would have been fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet, alerting police if he approached Sophie.

"Where there has been any history of violent offending there should be electronic monitoring as a condition of bail," Shadow Attorney General Damien Tudehope said.

Given the infancy of the case and the fact the accused is still on the run, the government won't comment on why Ingram was released on bail.

Although, it insists it isn't being complacent and the system will be scrutinised.

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