At least 4 dead in shooting in Australian city of Darwin

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A gunman was arrested after killing at least four people and wounding several others Tuesday in the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials and media said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a suspect was in custody and the incident was not terrorism related.

"This is a terrible act of violence that has already, I'm advised, taken the lives of four people," Morrison told reporters in London, where he was on a visit to take part in D-Day commemorations. "Our advice is that this is not a terrorist act. There is nothing to suggest that that is the case whatsoever."

A 45-year-old man was in custody following the shooting, Northern Territory Police Duty Superintendent Lee Morgan told Guardian Australia.

Two people were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital with gunshot wounds and both were in stable condition, a Health Department statement said.

Police contacted by The Associated Press declined to comment. Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw was expected to hold a news conference later Tuesday.

A man fired a pump action shotgun at the Palms Hotel in the Darwin suburb of Woolner in the late afternoon, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Police attended three crime scenes in the tropical city of 100,000 related to the gunman, ABC said.

An ABC reporter said she saw police tackle and taser the gunman at a busy intersection. </s> MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A gunman was arrested after killing at least four people and wounding several others Tuesday in the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials and media said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a suspect was in custody and the incident was not terrorism related.

"This is a terrible act of violence that has already, I'm advised, taken the lives of four people," Morrison told reporters in London, where he was on a visit to take part in D-Day commemorations. "Our advice is that this is not a terrorist act. There is nothing to suggest that that is the case whatsoever."

A 45-year-old man was in custody following the shooting, Northern Territory Police Duty Superintendent Lee Morgan told Guardian Australia.

Two people were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital with gunshot wounds and both were in stable condition, a Health Department statement said.

Police contacted by The Associated Press declined to comment. Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw was expected to hold a news conference later Tuesday.

In this image made from video, police proceed to apprehend a suspect on the ground next to a white truck, Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in Darwin Australia. Media reports say a gunman has killed at least four people in the Australian city of Darwin. Northern Territory Police Duty Superintendent Lee Morgan says a 45-year-old man was in custody following Tuesday's shooting. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

A man fired a pump action shotgun at the Palms Hotel in the Darwin suburb of Woolner in the late afternoon, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Police attended three crime scenes in the tropical city of 100,000 related to the gunman, ABC said.

An ABC reporter said she saw police tackle and taser the gunman at a busy intersection. </s> MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A gunman was arrested after killing at least four people and wounding several others Tuesday in the tropical Australian city of Darwin, officials and media said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the incident was not terrorism related. "This is a terrible act of violence that has already, I'm advised, taken the lives of four people," Morrison told reporters in London.

A 45-year-old man was in custody following the shooting, Northern Territory Police Duty Superintendent Lee Morgan told Guardian Australia.

"At this stage, we've got reports of four deceased and a number of other people who have been shot," Morgan said.

Police contacted by The Associated Press declined to comment.

A man fired a pump action shotgun at the Palms Hotel in the Darwin suburb of Woolner in the late afternoon, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Police attended three crime scenes in the city of 100,000 related to the gunman, ABC said.

In this image made from video, police proceed to apprehend a suspect on the ground next to a white truck, Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in Darwin Australia. Media reports say a gunman has killed at least four people in the Australian city of Darwin. Northern Territory Police Duty Superintendent Lee Morgan says a 45-year-old man was in custody following Tuesday's shooting. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

Police earlier said the suspect was described as wearing a high-visibility shirt and driving a white dual-cab pickup truck, Australian Associated Press reported. </s> A gunman who killed four people and injured another in the Australian city of Darwin used an illegal pump-action shotgun, police say.

The 45-year-old suspect, who was known to police, was arrested about an hour after the first shots were fired on Tuesday.

Police said the gunman carried out attacks at several locations and may have been searching for a "specific individual".

It was not terror-related, they added.

Authorities have not identified the victims or the suspect.

Mass shootings in Australia have been a rare occurrence since the country overhauled its gun laws in 1996, in the wake of a shooting in Tasmania that left 35 people dead.

Those reforms included restrictions on gun ownership and the banning of all semi-automatic and automatic firearms.

The weapon used on Tuesday was a prohibited 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, said Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw.

The alleged gunman, who had been on parole since January, was wearing an electronic tag at the time.

Police said he travelled to several places across the city, including the Palms Hotel in the suburb of Woolner. There he allegedly opened fire in a number of rooms before fleeing.

One person was reportedly killed at the motel while another person was wounded.

Another person was killed at Buff Club, another at Gardens Hill Crescent and another at Jolly Street. Police said the suspect also went to the Peter McAulay Centre - a police operations base.

Witnesses said the suspect appeared to have been searching for a specific person called "Alex".

"We know he was looking for one individual," Commissioner Kershaw told reporters on Wednesday.

The suspect remains in police custody at the Royal Darwin Hospital and is due to be charged with murder, he added.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said officials would conduct an urgent review of all prisoners on parole in the wake of the shootings.

"The Northern Territory Government will do everything in its power to determine what led to these tragic events and how this violence occurred," Mr Gunner said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday the shootings were a "terrible act of violence".

Australia saw its worst mass shooting incident in more than 20 years last year when seven members of the same family died in a murder-suicide.

More recently, a man was killed and three others wounded in a shooting outside a popular nightclub in Melbourne in April. </s> Darwin shooting: Four people killed and another injured, 45yo alleged gunman arrested by police

Updated

Four men are dead and a woman is injured after a gunman went on a rampage across Darwin's CBD before being arrested by Northern Territory police.

Key points: The 45-year-old alleged shooter was recently released from jail

NT Police say they do not believe the incident to be terror-related

The alleged gunman went to five locations across the CBD

The 45-year-old suspect, who witnesses said was armed with a pump-action shotgun, started his shooting spree at a motel in the CBD about 5:45pm before travelling in a ute to four other locations, including to the outskirts of the city and back again.

He was arrested after calling NT Police and trying to enter police headquarters in what Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said may have been an attempt to hand himself in.

The man was known to police, having been released on parole in January, and was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner told a media conference the incident was not believed to be terror-related.

"This is not the Darwin we know," he said.

"On behalf of Territorians, our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and everybody else who has been impacted.

"I understand when an event like this occurs, especially considering recent global events, people's fears turn to terrorism. We can confirm this is not a terrorism event."

The alleged gunman is being held at Royal Darwin Hospital.

"I believe he may have some sort of injury," Commissioner Kershaw said.

NT Health confirmed two people were at the Royal Darwin Hospital in a stable condition.

Multiple witnesses said the man walked into the Palms Motel on McMinn Street at about 5:45pm while holding a pump-action shotgun, and fired at multiple doors.

They said he was looking for someone called "Alex".

"He shot up every room in that place," one man said.

"He got what he wanted and then he left in his pick-up. We watched him walk from room to room, shooting every room."

He said the victims said "they had no idea why he was there, why he was shooting at them, it appeared to be a random attack".

Another witness said he saw the shooter walking calmly though the motel.

"Cops went straight past him, didn't know who he was, he was that calm," he said.

The gunman then fled the scene and remained at large for approximately an hour, with road blocks in place around the city.

More than 100 police were involved in the operation.

Police listed four other crime scenes including the Buffalo Club at Stuart Park and Gardens Crescent Road at The Gardens.

Witnesses described a fight breaking out at the Buffalo Club carpark, where a man was believed to have died after a fight involving a knife and gun.

Other witnesses said a man was shot in the head at Gardens Crescent Road, however this has not yet been confirmed by authorities.

A man was also believed to have been killed at an industrial block on Jolly Street in Woolner.

Another crime scene is the Peter Macauley Centre, which is NT Police headquarters in the outer Darwin suburb of Berrimah.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is in London ahead of D-Day commemorations, condemned the "terrible act of violence" and said he had spoken on the phone with Mr Gunner.

"I want to extend my deep condolences and sympathy to all the people in the Territory, particularly in Darwin," Mr Morrison said.

"This is a very tight community and I know they will be rocked by these events."

Commissioner Kershaw said police were investigating whether the man was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and whether the attack was premeditated.

"The safety of our community comes first for our officers, we're here to serve and protect and that's what they did this evening," he said.

'I kind of just thought that was it'

Jasmine Kielly and her partner Brendon Ozanne moved to Darwin a week ago from Brisbane and were staying at the Palms Motel.

"I heard some loud banging, silly me went out the front to check," she told the ABC.

"As I've gone down towards the stairs, I saw a man in a high-vis shirt walk out with a rifle.

"He's turned to look at me and I've run to the bedroom and locked the door and we hid in the bathroom and we called the police and just heard shot after shot after shot."

She and her partner hid in the shower for about 40 minutes.

"We heard him walk up the stairs at one point and I kind of just thought that was it," Ms Kielly said.

"He had a pretty good shot if he wanted to hit me and he didn't even aim the gun at me; he was there for a reason."

She said the gunman had apparently been staying at the motel but had recently been kicked out by the owners.

'She was bleeding everywhere'

Witness Leah Potter said a woman was shot in the legs at the Palms Motel before being taken away by an ambulance.

"I was in the carpark [of a neighbouring hotel] when I heard what I thought were fireworks going off, really loud cracking, banging fireworks," she said.

"And then a man came running with a woman in his arms from next door, which is the Palms Motel, and he just dropped her on the footpath right in front of us.

"I ran and got some towels and wrapped up her legs, she had little holes all in her skin on both her legs and she was bleeding everywhere."

Ms Potter said police were across the road at a Coles Express service station for another matter, "so the boyfriend dropped the bleeding woman in front of us and he ran over to the Coles Express to get the police".

She said the gunman had a pump-action shotgun and ran off down Finniss St towards The Gardens.

Witness Matt James said the woman's boyfriend "told me he opened his door and there was this random gunman standing there who proceeded to unload his rounds on her".

'He shot up all the rooms'

Another witness said he spoke to a resident of the motel who was "pretty shaken up".

"He was asleep, heard all the banging and opened the door and the guy was there with his gun, and he just said 'where's Alex?' and he said 'I don't know where he is'," the man said.

"And he [the gunman] said, 'no worries,' and turned around and started shooting the place up again."

Another witness, John Rose, said he saw the gunman walk into the Palms Motel with "a sawn-off shotgun".

"He shot up all the rooms and he went to every room looking for somebody and he shot them all up, then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pick-up, and rush off," he said.

He said the gunman was calm as he shot up the motel.

"Once he left we went in and found one gentleman, he's over there, we pulled him out," Mr Rose said.

"This lady turned up and started screaming, and we didn't realise there was another person in there… apparently he's dead, he's been shot."

Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, police, woolner-0820, nt, australia

First posted </s> At least four people died in a shooting in the northern Australian city of Darwin on Tuesday, national broadcaster ABC reported.

"Northern Territory Police can confirm that a male has been taken into custody following a shooting incident in the inner suburbs of Darwin earlier this evening," the police said in a statement at around 8.30pm local time. </s> At least four people were killed and several others injured in a shooting spree in the Australian city of Darwin on Tuesday, police and government officials said.

“Five crime scenes, four people deceased… This is not the Darwin we know,” Northern Territory Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, said.

“This has been an incredibly difficult night tonight.

“I understand when an event like this occurs, especially considering recent global events, people’s fears turn to terrorism.

“We can confirm this is not a terrorism event,” Gunner told reporters at a press conference in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory.

The alleged attacker, a 45-year-old man, has been arrested and taken into custody, he said.

Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the gunman went on a shooting spree in five different locations.

The suspect was “well known to the police” and had been released on parole in January after serving at least a year, he told reporters.

Kershaw said he (suspect) acted alone.

“We are still trying to establish intent and motivation,” he added.

The suspect is being held at Royal Darwin Hospital for a check-up.

According to Kershaw, the incident started with reports of a man firing shots at Finnis Avenue near the Darwin Central Business District, after which he apparently went to four other locations.

He also allegedly tried to enter a local police station.

Kershaw said that the suspect moved around using a vehicle, and he was at large for about an hour before being apprehended by the police.

He said that Police had mounted road blocks around the city, which has a population of about 136,000, to arrest the gunman.

His arrest, in which officers used a taser, was caught on camera by journalists.

Witnesses told local media that the suspect, a white male, was seen with a sawn-off pump-action shotgun, but police did not confirm the make of the gun.

At the Palms Motel, he shot at multiple doors. It is believed that he killed three people there and one other person at the Gardens Hill Crescent.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was in London for a visit, said the incident was a “terrible act of violence.”

“This is a very tight community and I know they will be rocked by these events,” he told reporters.

Two people taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital with gunshot wounds are in a stable condition, a health department spokeswoman said. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Suspect detained after Darwin shooting

A gunman shot dead four people and injured another at five different locations in the northern Australian city of Darwin, officials said.

The 45-year-old suspect, who was known to the police, was arrested an hour after the first shots were reported at about 18:00 local time (08:30 GMT).

Police said they believed the man had acted alone. The crime scenes reportedly included a motel and a bar.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the shooting was not terror-related.

Mass shootings in Australia have been a rare occurrence since the country overhauled its gun laws in 1996, in the wake of a shooting in Tasmania that left 35 dead.

What do we know about the shooting?

The alleged gunman, who had been on parole since January, was wearing an electronic tag, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said.

"We're still trying to establish the intent and motivation behind this," he told journalists.

The gunman was reportedly carrying a pump action shotgun, and up to 20 gunshots were heard.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The city centre was on lockdown before police arrested the gunman

Eyewitnesses said the gunman entered the Palms Hotel in the suburb of Woolner and opened fire in a number of rooms before fleeing. One person was reportedly killed there while a woman was wounded.

"A man came running with a woman in his arms from next door which is the Palms Motel, which is the motel next to my motel, and he just dropped her on the footpath right in front of us," a witness, Leah Potter, told ABC News

"I ran and got some towels and wrapped up her legs, she had little holes all in her skin on both her legs and she was bleeding everywhere."

Another witness, John Rose, told ABC that he saw the gunman walk into the motel with a sawn-off shotgun.

"He shot up all the rooms and he went to every room looking for somebody and he shot them all up, then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pick-up, and rush off," Mr Rose said.

The suspect then travelled to four other locations, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, including the Peter Macauley Center - a police operations base.

Another person was killed at Buff Club, another at Gardens Hill Crescent and another at Jolly Street, according to the newspaper.

What has the reaction been?

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the authorities were waiting to hear more about the "circumstances surrounding this dreadful and tragic event".

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said: "[Today] has been a devastating day in the Northern Territory. Five crime scenes, four people deceased, one injured. This is not the Darwin we know."

On Twitter, Prime Minister Morrison described it as a "terrible act of violence".

Australia saw its worst mass shooting incident in more than 20 years last year when seven members of the same family died in a murder-suicide.

More recently, a man was killed and three others wounded in a shooting outside a popular nightclub in Melbourne in April.

Are you in the area? If it is safe to do, get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: </s> MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A man who was out on parole was arrested after fatally shooting four men and wounding a woman in an hour-long downtown rampage Tuesday in the northern Australian city of Darwin, police said.

Police did not reveal a motive for the shotgun attack, but ruled out terrorism.

It was Australia’s third mass shooting since the country introduced tough gun laws in response to a 1996 massacre in which a lone gunman armed with two semi-automatic assault rifles killed 35 people in Tasmania state. Mass shootings are usually defined as those resulting in at least four deaths excluding the shooter.

In Tuesday’s rampage, four men were killed and a woman was wounded at five places around Darwin, said Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw.

The 45-year-old suspect was released from prison on parole in January and was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, Kershaw said. Police did not say why he had been in prison or whether the bracelet helped police arrest him.

“He is an individual who’s well known to police and has a number of interactions adverse with the police,” Kershaw said.

The woman who was wounded did not have serious injuries, he said.

The Health Department had earlier said two people were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds and both were in stable condition. It was not immediately clear if the second victim had been injured in an unrelated shooting.

Kershaw said the man was arrested after he contacted a senior police officer. An Australian Broadcasting Corp. reporter said she saw police tackle and taser the gunman at a busy intersection.

Kershaw did not explain why the suspect was being held under police guard in a hospital. The suspect had yet to be charged.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner described the incident as an “incredibly difficult night.”

“This is not the Darwin we know,” Gunner said. “This may be an event you prepare for, but this is never an event you want to respond to.”

Witnesses described the shooter using a pump action shotgun to fire multiple blasts at the Palms Hotel and Buffalo Club. A victim was killed at each. Kershaw confirmed that the suspect was armed with a shotgun, but could not confirm what type.

Pump action shotguns have been virtually banned from private ownership in Australia along with other rapid-fire weapons under the country’s tough gun laws designed to prevent mass shootings.
A mass shooting in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, leaves four people dead and another injured at five different locations. The 45-year-old suspect, who had been on parole since January, is arrested. Authorities say the shooting was not terrorism-related.