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.