Armed man goes berserk

Press, 23 May 1977, Page 6

Armed man goes berserk

NZPA Brisbane An elderly man wounded a policeman and a fireman from the front window of his blazing house in the Brisbane suburb of Stafford on Saturday. The man, who died in the yard beside the house soon afterwards, used a shotgun to blast at cars and people ivhile he yelled abuse. He had earlier carried a blazing torch through his home, setting furnishings alight. He then went to a front window and fired on two cars, hitting one, before the police arrived. A senior constable was shot in the legs, and when two fire engines arrived a hail of shotgun pellets passed through the drivers’ cabin of one. A fireman who alighted from the second engine was shot in the legs. The man began to feel the heat of the fire, came downstairs and continued shooting from the front driveway. Armed detectives arrived and approached the house from the rear. Two detectives were only three metres from the man when he turned the gun on himself, inflicting fatal injuries.