Darwin shooting: four dead after fatal shooting in Australia, as police reveal suspect was 'on parole'

A man is detained at the scene of the shooting

At least four people have been killed after a gunman opened fire in Darwin, Australia.

Police confirmed a man had been arrested after twenty gunshots were fired at a hotel in the suburb of Woolner just before 6pm local time (9.30am UK time) on Tuesday.

Four people have been confirmed dead, with one injured following the attack.

"At this stage we do not believe this is terrorism related. This is one individual who has acted individually and, unfortunately, taken the action they have," Northern Territory Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw told reporters at a press conference in the northern Australian city.

Mr Kershaw said a 47-year-old man, who was known to police, had been taken into custody within an hour of the first shots being reported.

Police confirmed the suspect's arrest shortly after the attack on the motel
Stephanie Zillman/ABC News

The suspect, who police confirmed had been on parole since January, is believed to have used a shotgun to target victims.

Officers had identified five crime scenes, including pubs, a park and a convenience store.

"We are still trying to establish the intent and motivation behind this," said Mr Kershaw, who confirmed the suspect was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet at the time.

Witnesses reported seeing a man open fire at a motel in the Australian city, with one woman shot multiple times in the legs.

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Michael Gunner (left) addresses the media as Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw looks on during a press conference in Darwin.
EPA

One witness, John Rose, told the ABC he saw the gunman walk into the Palm’s Motel on Darwin's Esplanade with “a sawn-off shotgun”.

“He shot up all the rooms and he went to every room looking for somebody and he shot them all up, then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pick-up, and rush off,” said Mr Rose, adding that the gunman appeared calm.

“Once he left we went in and found one gentleman, he’s over there, we pulled him out.

“This lady turned up and started screaming, and we didn’t realise there was another person in there … apparently he’s dead, he’s been shot.”

Another witness, Leah Potter, told the ABC she helped an injured woman after the alleged shooter fired his shotgun through a motel room door.

Ms Potter said she heard something that sounded "like fireworks" before seeing the woman carried outside.

Police cordon off the Palms Motel, which was said to be the main crime scene.
EPA

Her legs were "bleeding everywhere" and peppered with shotgun pellets, Ms Potter said.

A man, believed to be the injured woman’s boyfriend, rushed to get help from police, leaving her with the bystanders.

“A man came running with a woman in his arms from next door which is the Palms Motel, which is the motel next to my motel, and he just dropped her on the footpath right in front of us,” Ms Potter said.

“I ran and got some towels and wrapped up her legs, she had little holes all in her skin on both her legs and she was bleeding everywhere.”

Two people were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital with gunshot wounds and both were in stable condition, a Health Department statement said.

The alleged shooter, described by police as wearing high-vis workwear, reportedly fled the scene in a pick-up truck before driving to the suburb of Stuart Park and firing his gun again, according to news.com.au.

Officers said the attacker sped throughout the city as he tried to escape police, armed with the same shotgun.

It’s understood The Palm Motel is the main crime scene, but police have cordoned off two other areas, including a social club called The Buff Club.

The shooter is believed to have acted alone.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is currently in London ahead of D-Day commemorations, said the attack had not been an act of terrorism and offered his condolences to the Northern Territory community.

Writing on Twitter, he stated: "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 Territoriansand the tight-knit community in Darwin.

"We have seen a terrible act of violence take place in Darwin this evening," he added.

Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner said his thoughts were with the families and friends of the victims.

“This is not the Darwin we know,” he told reporters in Australia.

More than 100 police are involved in maintaining the multiple crime scenes, according to the Associated Press.

Police said they had received calls about shots being fired in at 5.50pm local time, and arrested the suspect in Stuart Park at 6.45pm, after tackling him at a city roundabout.

Officers said they expect to charge the man on Wednesday.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in