The sole survivor of a horror triple murder has told how the gunman was “laughing” when he allegedly shot and killed one of the victims.

Kaleb Macqueen, 19, was working on a car at his friend’s mother’s house in the small town of Lake Cargelligo when a vehicle drove up to the home.

Macqueen told Nine News that his friend’s mother, Nerida Quinn, 50, walked towards the ute driven by alleged suspect Julian Ingram.

“I heard boom boom … she was holding her neck and he was laughing and gave her one good shot to the head and she was gone,” said Macqueen.

“I seen him point the gun out the window, and within seconds it was just too late… I had to save myself.

“Not that I could have done anything with Nerida. I probably would have ended up dying if I went over to Nerida as well.”

Macqueen turned and ran and that was when he was allegedly shot in the back of the head, his hand, shoulder and leg.

“I went to run towards her but something told me to turn around and run the other way,” he told the ABC.

“I quickly ran inside and that’s when he’s got me.”

He had no idea that just earlier, the gunman had allegedly shot and killed two other people — the shooter’s pregnant former partner Sophie Quinn, 25, and her friend John Harris, 32.

Sophie Quinn was the niece of the victim, Nerida Quinn.

Pregnant Sophie Quinn was shot dead. Photo: Supplied

Police on Sunday received a tip-off about a possible sighting of the shooter, Julian Ingram, a 37-year-old council worker, who has been on the run since Thursday.

Officers descended on the region surrounding Mount Hope, a small former mining town in central NSW, on Sunday.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said members of the public had come forward with information overnight, triggering searches of multiple properties in the Mount Hope region early on Sunday.

“Obviously, with an armed offender in that area, we are asking members of the public to exercise extreme caution,” he told reporters.

Mount Hope is about 90km northwest of Lake Cargelligo, an isolated town with a population of about 1400 people.

The manhunt area continues to expand as police search for the experienced bushman.

The region is home to large farms, some spanning 40,000 hectares, leaving police to search numerous possible hideouts.

“The farms are extraordinarily large in size … that’s what’s making search areas difficult,” Holland said.

“You’ve got open paddocks, you’ve got scrubland, you’ve got bushland, we’ve got farm sheds and everything else – we are doing our best to get police to those locations with multiple numbers and clear those locations.”

Julian Ingram is on the run and wanted. Photo: NSW Police

As the search approaches a fourth day, police did not rule out the possibility that locals had aided the fugitive’s escape, although they didn’t believe he was travelling in company.

His vehicle has not been spotted on point-to-point traffic cameras on major highways, leading police to believe he remained in the area.

Quinn, 25, and her friend John Harris, 32, were killed when bullets were fired into a dark hatchback about 4.20pm on Bokhara St.

Soon after, Quinn’s aunt Nerida Quinn, 50, was shot dead at a home on Walker St, a two-minute drive away.

A 19-year-old man was also shot at the home but survived and is in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police allege the shootings are linked to domestic violence.

Ingram, a gardener for the local council, was last seen driving out of town in a Ford Ranger ute with NSW registration DM-07-GZ.

He has a long criminal history and was on bail after being charged with domestic violence offences in November.

Ingram was released on strict conditions after an assessment deemed him low risk because he had not committed any violent crimes in the last five years.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491

-with AAP