Australian police are investigating why a 60 year old man fired up to 50 bullets from his flat window into a busy Sydney street. The rare mass shooting in Croydon Park left one person seriously injured but, remarkably, no fatalities.
On Sunday night, the man allegedly used a 30 calibre rifle to shoot at cars and people. The shots caused panic, as many mistook them for fireworks. An office worker saw a car’s windscreen and a bus stop’s glass shatter.
Police quickly arrived, stormed the unit, and arrested the suspect. He was taken to the hospital for arrest related injuries before being moved to a police station. A man in his 50s was shot in the neck and chest and is in critical condition. At least fourteen others were treated for shock or minor injuries from shattered glass.
Police said the suspect had no known links to organised crime or terrorism and no history of mental health issues or significant contact with authorities.
Such random mass shootings are rare in Australia. Automatic and semi automatic weapons have been banned since 1996, after a gunman killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania. A police superintendent with 35 years’ experience said he had rarely seen such incidents.
The investigation is ongoing, and police are now focused on figuring out a motive for the attack, an answer that remains unclear, much like the questions raised about how often such incidents occur and whether gun laws play a role.
Do you think a country’s gun laws have a big impact on how often these types of events happen?
