Man, 63, is charged over alleged shooting at Canberra Airport that plunged the facility into lockdown and left passengers stranded for hours
- A man has been charged after allegedly firing five bullets at Canberra Airport
- Police allege he sat on seats near check-in and fired rounds into glass panes
- Nobody was injured during the incident and the airport was evacuated
A 63-year old NSW man has been charged with multiple firearm offences after a shooting at Canberra Airport on Sunday.
Police will allege the man arrived at the airport at around 1.20pm on Sunday, and that he sat on seats near the check-in desks before firing five bullets at glass panes.
No one was injured during the incident but the airport was evacuated and remained closed for about three hours.
Footage posted to Facebook shows a man being apprehended by police inside the airport following the alleged shooting
Images posted to social media show bullet holes in the concourse windows (pictured) with reports suggesting the alleged shooter fired at the glass several times
It’s alleged the man had not passed through the security checkpoint.
Canberra Airport was evacuated and police apprehended the man, who they say was acting alone.
He has been charged with discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person causing alarm.
He will appear at the Canberra Magistrates Court on Monday, where bail will be opposed.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Detective Acting Superintendent Dave Craft said police had ‘no idea’ of the man’s motivation behind the alleged attack.
He said the man hadn’t targeted any passengers or staff members and had not passed through any flight-screening procedures.
‘I just need to reassure people that the airport is safe, that ACT Policing have responded, and there is no ongoing threat to the community or to passengers arriving and departing,’ he said.
Detective Craft said the man spent about five minutes sitting in the departures area on level two before allegedly firing five rounds into airport windows.
The shooting sparked travel chaos with some passengers left stranded on their plane while the alleged shooter was being arrested.
Over a dozen police vehicles were stationed outside the airport with AFP officers guarding the outside of the building
Cold travellers were allowed back inside Canberra Airport as operations resumed following the shooting on Sunday afternoon
Passengers onboard inbound flights were told to wait inside the planes until about 3.30pm.
One passenger stranded on a plane tweeted: ‘Stuck on a plane on the tarmac while there is apparently a shooter in the Canberra airport….what the f***is going on???’.
Flights were resumed hours later with social media posts showing long queues at the airport as airlines hurried to clear the backlog of cancelled and delayed flights.
ACT Policing urges any witnesses who haven’t already spoken to police, to call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 and quote reference 7187298.
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