A man and a woman have been shot by police during a fancy-dress swingers ball at a Melbourne nightclub when a "fake gun" was allegedly aimed at officers.
But the owner of Inflation nightclub says the man wasn't holding a gun and was in a "compromising position" with a woman when police "stormed in" and opened fire.
The partygoers suffered gunshot wounds in the incident at the King Street nightclub about 3.30am on Saturday.
The club was hosting a raunchy Saints and Sinners Ball, described on its website as a "no holds barred extravaganza of adult fun".
Police say they arrived at the ball after receiving a number of reports that a man had a gun at the venue.
Security told police the gun was a toy or fake weapon rather than a real one.
But when officers approached the man he allegedly drew the gun from his pants and would not drop it when asked.
"As a response police then fired a number of shots and a male and female were injured," Superintendent Lisa Hardeman told reporters on Saturday morning.
She said police were told it was a "fake gun" but in the heat of the moment they could not be sure.
"The firearm was levelled at police, and police asked the man to drop it and he didn't," Supt Hardeman said.
"You can imagine, in a nightclub, it's very difficult to tell whether a firearm is real or not."
The nightclub's owner Martha Tsamis took to social media on Saturday to defend the venue, claiming staff did not call police and the pair shot were doing nothing wrong.
"Venue staff have stated that the male victim was not holding anything in his hand but rather he was in a compromising position with his female partner, which is a normal activity with the nature of this event," she posted on Facebook.
"Security had no concerns prior to the incident, and advised police on attendance that they were more than happy to deal with any issues.
"But police rejected this advice, stormed in, fired three shots and a taser."
The 35-year-old man was dressed as Batman character the Joker and the woman he was with was reportedly kitted out as Harley Quinn.
He was shot in the torso and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital under police guard and he remains there in a critical condition.
The woman was shot in the leg and taken to the Alfred Hospital in a stable condition.
Supt Hardeman would not comment on reports the man was tasered after he was shot but she said a number of police options were used.
She said she was "very satisfied" police had acted according to their training.
The "rockers, punks and goths" themed ball was aimed at "broadminded adults" and tickets sold for $55 per person.
