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Elderly cyclist shot in head, lives to tell tale

Kelvin Tennant suffered chest, stomach and eye injuries.

Kelvin Tennant suffered chest, stomach and eye injuries. Photo: Supplied/Nick Tennant.

A Melbourne grandfather saw a dark car and a figure moments before he was gunned down on a country bike track in northern Victoria.

The family of Kelvin Tennant, 72, believe he may have been about to ride past something the gunman “didn’t want him to see”.

The Ringwood man was hit with multiple bullets while riding the Myrtleford-Everton Rail Trail in Everton in the state’s northeast about noon on Saturday.

Fairfax Media reported that Mr Tennant was shot at least six times as he rode.

Mr Tennant, a retired schoolteacher, is in The Alfred Hospital with multiple gunshot injuries, including a number of pellets lodged in his head near his eyes and a number in his chest.

He was scheduled for surgery on Monday afternoon.

Police said on Monday that he was shot with a small-calibre gun, but they’re not yet sure what it was.

“We’ll have to have a better look at the injuries and hopefully get some ballistics evidence to help us out,” Detective Senior Constable Elise Douglas told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Monday.

There is no other motive and he is just a “grandfather who enjoys cycling,” police say.

cyclist shot in head

Police say there is no other motive and that Mr Tennant is just a “grandfather who enjoys cycling”. Photo: Supplied/Nick Tennant.

Mr Tennant’s son, Nick, says his father was believed to have been shot by a .22 pistol.

“Dad just observed a dark-coloured car in an unusual place and before he knew it, a person jumped out and fired shots at him,” Nick told reporters outside The Alfred Hospital on Monday.

“The person was behind a bush and they walked towards him.”

Daughter Natalie Knox said there was no reason for anyone to target him and he didn’t get a good look at the gunman.

“He heard the gunshots but doesn’t remember seeing anyone, only a figure,” Ms Knox said.

“He feels blessed and lucky and happy to be here. It was very close.”

Police are urging anyone, particularly cyclists that may have been on the track on Saturday, to come forward.

– AAP

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