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Police detain gunman in Canberra airport shooting

Police detain gunman in Canberra airport shooting
The shooting led to airport evacuation and delays and cancelations of flights. (AFP)
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Updated 14 August 2022

Police detain gunman in Canberra airport shooting

Police detain gunman in Canberra airport shooting
  • No reported injuries in the attack
  • Several apparent bullet impacts were visible on the glass front of the airport

SYDNEY:  A gunman fired about five shots inside Canberra’s main airport Sunday, sending passengers fleeing but injuring no-one before he was detained by Australian police.
The airport was evacuated and locked down, leading to the suspension of flights.
Images posted on social media showed a police officer restraining a man on the ground inside the terminal as the emergency alarm sounded in the capital’s main airport.
“A male has entered Canberra Airport in the departures area. He has sat in one of the areas adjacent to the glass windows,” detective acting superintendent Dave Craft told reporters outside the airport building.
“After approximately five minutes, this male has removed a firearm from his possession and let off approximately five rounds,” he added.
Craft said the crime scene indicated that the man had fired shots at the glass inside the terminal.
“There was no shots directed at people, or persons, passengers or staff,” he said
Several apparent bullet impacts were visible on the glass front of the airport, according to images shown by Australia’s public broadcaster ABC.
A woman identified only as Helen was quoted as telling a reporter for The Guardian newspaper that she saw a man “shooting into the air” not far from the check-in counter, describing him as being middle-aged and “clean cut.”