The devastated family of Mark Bombara have broken cover for the first time since he slaughtered a mother and daughter before taking his own life – as the government launches a new crackdown on guns in the wake of the tragedy.
Bombara, 63, shot Jennifer Petelczyc, 53, and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl inside their Floreat home, in Perth’s western suburbs, on Friday afternoon before turning the gun on himself.
The property developer, who was the registered owner of 13 guns, had been searching for his ex-wife and mother of his four adult children, Rowena, who had been staying at her friend’s Berkeley Crescent home on and off since the couple separated on April 1.
As the two families come to terms with the tragedy, the Bombaras – including children Candice, Ariel, Isaac and Eden – have remained out of the public eye.
However, Candice and Isaac were spotted outside her East Freemantle home on Monday as they ventured out to run errands.
Returning to the property clutching a Woolworths shopping bag, Isaac respectfully declined to comment, saying he ‘didn’t care’ to talk about what happened.
Gunman Mark Bombara’s daughter Candice is pictured leaving her East Freemantle home on Monday with her husband to run errands
Isaac Bombara is pictured leaving his sister’s home on Monday to go grocery shopping
The sighting comes as the Western Australian government on Monday announced new gun laws, set to be put to parliament in the coming days, could be further tightened after it was revealed Bombara owned more than a dozen firearms.
In October, the WA government revealed proposed firearm law reforms that would limit the number of guns someone can own.
Under the Firearm Act review, recreational shooters would only be allowed five guns, while farmers and competitive shooters would be restricted to 10.
Gun owners would also have to undergo mental health checks and could lose their firearm licence automatically if a violence or family violence order is taken out on them.
If the bill passes through parliament, Western Australia will have the strictest gun legislation in the country.
However, authorities are now considering clamping down on gun owners even further as questions are raised over whether the deaths could have been prevented.
Speaking to media on Monday, Police Minister Paul Papalia revealed Bombara had 11 firearms under a recreational shooter’s licence and two handguns under a collector licence.
It is understood the weapon used on Friday was one of the handguns.
Mark James Bombara had been hunting for his former partner, Rowena, who had been staying with Ms Petelczyc following their bitter divorce (Bombara and Rowena are pictured together)
Mark and Rowena are parents to (pictured left to right) Isaac, Eden, Candice and Ariel Bombara
Premier Roger Cook said the Floreat tragedy highlighted the need for tougher laws surrounding gun ownership.
‘There is no reason a person living in Mosman Park should be able to legally own 13 guns,’ Premier Roger Cook said.
‘It’s hard to fathom. One man, 13 guns, legally owned, right In the suburbs of Perth.’
Mr Papalia said Bombara had no prior convictions and only became known to police after his ex-wife had contacted them for help on March 31 to request their help as she as vacated the couple’s Mosman Park marital home the following day.
Mr Papalia said she asked for officers’ to be present at the home while she packed her belongings due to ‘Family Domestic Violence [FDV] related matters’ which had not been previously reported to police.
Under both current gun laws and the proposed reforms, officers would still not of had the power to strip Bombara of his weapons when the FDV matters were first raised to police eight weeks ago.
However, while Bombara was not subject to a restraining order, Mr Papalia said the new laws would have restricted the number of weapons he owned to five.
Mr Papalia said he and the police commissioner would now look at whether any more changes could be made to those reforms.
‘I think there is, I think we’ll be acting earlier to remove firearms from premises where there’s potential for harm to be done,’ he said.
‘We need to address every part of the law to make them tougher but particularly around this seizure of firearms, and what point that seizure is made in relation to incidents of this nature.
Mark Bombara, 63, stormed Jennifer Petelczyc’s Floreat home, in Perth’s western suburbs, about 4.30pm on Friday, looking for his estranged wife Rowena. Unable to find her, Bombara instead fatally shot her 53-year-old friend Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter Gretl, 18, (pictured together) before turning the gun on himself
Two young women lay a floral tribute at the murder scene
‘At the current time, clearly, people are allowed to retain their firearms longer than potentially we could In the future.’
The announcement comes after a family friend of Ms Petelczyc told Daily Mail Australia the mother-of-two had confided she feared for her family’s safety after learning Bombara was driving around with a Glock under the seat in his car, in search of his ex-wife.
The friend said Bombara had been growing increasingly erratic over the past six months after suffering from mini strokes and diabetes but failing to get treatment, which had led to significant personality changes.
The family friend said Ms Petelczyc, a widow, had been frequently visiting his parents, seeking legal advice from his lawyer father about ways she could protect her daughters and Ms Bombara.
He said the last time his parents saw Ms Petelczyc, which was two weeks ago shortly before they left for a holiday, his father yelled out to her as she walked down the driveway ‘don’t forget to report it [Bombara driving around with a gun] to police’.
Ms Petelczyc called back ‘I will’ before turning around and heading home.
Pictured: mourners comfort one another after leaving floral tributes outside the murder scene
The family friend said they are unsure whether or not Ms Petelczyc had reported the matter to police.
Daily Mail Australia understands WA police have been unable to locate records indicating Ms Petelczyc made a report to cops.
Ms Bombara had been staying at the Petelczyc home since leaving her ex-husband last month, but was not at the property when he stormed the home at about 4.30pm on Friday.
Daily Mail Australia understands Bombara shot each woman in separate rooms of the house before taking his own life, with police officers hearing the final shots as they raced up the road towards the scene.
The tragedy leaves eldest daughter Leisl Petelczyc, 23, who was not home at the time, as the only surviving member of the family after her father Jon died from pancreatic cancer in August 2019.
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