Four are dead and one is injured in Australia’s second deadliest mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania.
A 45-year-old gunman began opening fire with a pump-action shot gun at a motel in the northern city of Darwin before opening fire at other nearby locations in the city’s central business district around 6 p.m. Monday. Pump-action shotguns are largely prohibited in the country under sweeping legislation passed in the aftermath of the Port Arthur shooting, where 35 people were killed.
“He shot up all the rooms, and he went to every room looking for somebody, and he shot them all up,” John Rose, a witness, told Australia’s public broadcaster. “Then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pickup and rush off.”
Police said the man was out of prison on parole and was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. After about an hour police took the suspect into custody.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said that they were still working on establishing a motive for the shooting.
“We’re still trying to establish the intent and motivation behind this, but all I can say, sadly, is that people have lost their lives this evening,” Kershaw said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the shooting was not terrorism-related.
“I have been in contact with Chief Minister Gunner and understand this is not an act of terrorism and a person has been taken into custody. My thoughts are with Territorians and the tight-knit community in Darwin,” he tweeted.
We have seen a terrible act of violence take place in Darwin this evening. We know four people have lost their lives and there are a number of other casualties.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) June 4, 2019
In addition to prohibiting pump-action shotguns, the strict gun control measures passed after the Port Arthur shooting also banned automatic and semi-automatic assault rifles, except in rare circumstances. It also created a national gun registry and a temporary buyback program.