After Bali, Australia hit by deadly shooting rampage<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n
A student opened fire without warning in a university classroom
\nhere on Monday, killing two fellow students and wounding five
\nothers before he was wrestled to the ground by people around him,
\npolice said.<\/p>\n
With nerves on edge across Australia following the Oct. 12
\nbombing in Bali that left up to 92 Australians dead, officials
\nquickly said they did not believe Monday's shooting had any
\nterrorist links.<\/p>\n
Police quoted witnesses as saying the man gave no indication
\nof his intentions when he walked into the economics class on the
\nsixth floor of a building at Melbourne's Monash University.<\/p>\n
Then he suddenly stood up and began firing indiscriminately
\nwith a revolver and semi-automatic pistol, killing two men and
\nwounding two men and a woman before a student and an instructor
\noverpowered him and held him on the ground until police arrived.<\/p>\n
\"The gunman just went berserk and started shooting everyone,\"
\nsaid Thanh Huynh, whose brother was shot in both legs during the
\nattack.<\/p>\n
\"I think there was meant to be a presentation by the gunman
\ntoday,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Police questioned the attacker, described as a man of Asian
\nbackground in his mid-30s, but gave no motive for the shooting.
\nThe two dead men were both ethnic Asians.<\/p>\n
\"It would appear at this stage that it's not an incident that
\nwould be related to any sort of terrorist activity,\" said police
\nSuperintendent Trevor Parks.<\/p>\n
\"It's probably too early to say that, but it would appear that
\nat the moment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A witness said the gunman appeared \"extremely emotionless\" as
\nhe was led away by police. \"He really didn't care what he'd
\ndone,\" the student, identified only as Gerard, told Australian
\nBroadcasting Corp. radio.<\/p>\n
The incident brought back memories of the Port Arther massacre
\nin 1996 when a lone gunman, Martin Bryant, shot and killed 35
\npeople in the tourist town in Tasmania -- the worst mass killing
\nin modern Australian history.<\/p>\n
Monday's attack occurred in a high-rise building housing the
\narts and humanities faculty at Monash University's Clayton campus
\non the southeastern outskirts of Melbourne, Australia's second
\nbiggest city.<\/p>\n
End of year exams were due to get underway at the school next
\nweek.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of terrified students fled the building, while some
\nof those wounded staggered around seeking help, witnesses said.<\/p>\n
The wounded were taken by helicopter to local hospitals, one
\nof them in critical condition and four others in serious but
\nstable condition.<\/p>\n
Police hailed the bravery of those who wrestled the gunman
\ndown before he could shoot more people.<\/p>\n
\"The people who have actually tackled this person have done a
\ntremendous job and I think we've been spared further death or
\ninjury because there were a number of handguns present in the
\nclassroom,\" Parks said.<\/p>\n
The shooting added to the national trauma suffered in the Bali
\nbombing and came just a day after Australians observed an
\nemotional day of mourning for those killed.<\/p>\n
\"I was only writing to a friend today that you're not safe
\nanywhere anymore,\" said Corinne, one of the hundreds of students
\nforced to flee the building by the shooting.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't realize that it would be proven to me today,\" she
\ntold ABC radio.<\/p>\n
The gunman's rampage also renewed calls for further gun
\ncontrol measures in a country which recently outlawed assault
\nrifles but has not legislated against handguns.<\/p>\n
\"There's no place for semi-automatic handguns in our
\ncommunity,\" said Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Greens party.<\/p>\n
He called on the conservative government of Prime Minister
\nJohn Howard to deal with the problem at a meeting of national
\npolice officials scheduled for next month.<\/p>",
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