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