Melbourne shooting was retaliation: police

Two gunmen who fired high powered firearms near a playground and forced a school lockdown in Melbourne's inner suburbs are believed to have retaliated to an earlier assault.

The men were spotted getting into a black hatchback after emergency services received reports of several shots being fired near a playground in Kensington at 12.20pm on June 8.

Detective Sergeant Matt Folvig said it was believed the shooting was an isolated incident.

"We believe these parties may be known to each other and the retaliation is a result of an assault that's occurred some time ago," Det Sgt Folvig told reporters on Wednesday.

The officer said he wanted to clarify that police were searching for two Caucasian males and not two African males.

"We initially thought it was two African males, we now believe it was two Caucasian males, one with a high calibre firearm and one with a hand gun," Det Sgt Folvig said.

He said one of the men was dropped off near Kensington train station, with witnesses coming forward to provide a face fit image.

A nearby school was forced into lockdown when the shots were fired but no injuries were reported.