Children witness gangland execution.

[Sever]

I read about this yesterday. Excerpts from article: "2 Shot dead at AusKick" taken from The Sunday Times, 22/6/03.

Melbourne gangland figure [x] and another man were gunned down in a van yesterday as they picked up their children from an Auskick clinic. [x] and another man believed to be [x] were shot in the head as they sat in the van behind Pascoe Vale's Cross Key Hotel as up to 200 children finished a football clinic at an adjoining oval. There were five children in the van at the time of the shooting but they were not injured. Many of the children at the clinic witnessed the killings. "It was in front of all the kids at AusKick and their parents" a local trader told the ABC news. "The car park was actually chock-a-block. The kids were on the ground, and bang, there it happened in front of the whole lot of them." "There's lots of little ones and they're traumatised." "It was about four or five bangs," said the Pascoe Vale coach who gave his name as Roger. "I stopped the game and looked over and it was pandemonium. I saw someone run off. To me, it looked like he had a hood on. He diddn't appear to be running that fast." He said the children were all visibly shaken, especially a girl aged about five who told him "I've just seen my uncle get shot." Roger said he believed [x] had young twins, at least one of whom had just finished playing. A police source said the gang land execution may have been a payback for the murder of crime lord [x].

What is happening to the world. It's bad enough when some kids parents are killed for one reason or another. But no child should have to witness anything as remotely horrible as that. For the most part, the article seemed to focus on the victims ties to underworld circles and not on the horror subjected upon the innocent kids. No matter what their parents may or may not have been up to, my heart goes out to them.

[Melusine]

Horrible
There was a gang liquidation in the area here a while back - one criminal shot another one... who was picking up his little daughter from kindergarten. Couldn't he have waited till the man was alone?

[jabidas]

Unfortunatly times like this are chosen because the murderers know their victim will be at a certain place,at a certain time and that their defences will be down. This makes it easier to plan for.

It is some kind of grim efficancy thing. I read a part of a book in a shop recently by some australian psycho criminal called Chopper who said he kneecapped some guy's mother so they could get him to go to hospital where they waited for him. Weirdly this guy is really popular because he only kills criminals. How that makes it so much better I'm not entirely sure but from what he writes he seems to think he is a moral kind of guy.

What I find weirder is that shops will stock his crap. He is apparently australias biggest writer, that includes him selling both David Malouf and that Carey guy.

[Sever]

Originally posted by jabidas: Unfortunatly times like this are chosen because the murderers know their victim will be at a certain place,at a certain time and that their defences will be down. This makes it easier to plan for. It is some kind of grim efficancy thing. I read a part of a book in a shop recently by some australian psycho criminal called Chopper who said he kneecapped some guy's mother so they could get him to go to hospital where they waited for him. Weirdly this guy is really popular because he only kills criminals. How that makes it so much better I'm not entirely sure but from what he writes he seems to think he is a moral kind of guy. What I find weirder is that shops will stock his crap. He is apparently australias biggest writer, that includes him selling both David Malouf and that Carey guy.

[img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] Chopper Reid is seriously screwed up. From reading his work and seeing his interviews you can clearly see that he believes he's got good morals. In the really real world, he's nothing but a gvt health warning for the paranoid schizophrenic's association. And people buy his work. I say again; What's wrong with the world today?

As for the grim efficiency thing. I think you're spot on. What kind of statement does that make about the people who do this kind of thing?

[Cristian]

right now i have to say the whole world seems just F****d up....

[Chewbacca]

That's like another day in the ghettos over here. Still, it is sad though....

[Cristian]

yeah its like Colombia...

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by Melusine: Horrible There was a gang liquidation in the area here a while back - one criminal shot another one... who was picking up his little daughter from kindergarten. Couldn't he have waited till the man was alone?

They probably figured they could get away easier in the chaos... Or the thing jabidas mentioned.
But it's terrible *anyone* should have to witness such a horrible crime, those poor children...

[HolyWarrior]

But didn't the Aussie government impose gun control? So how could this happen?

[dragon_lord]

Originally posted by HolyWarrior: But didn't the Aussie government impose gun control? So how could this happen?

I probably shouldnt say anything in reply to that, considering its somewhat off topic but anyway... The guy who did this is a member of a professional crime gang, so even if it is illegal to have certain gun models thats not going to stop them from having illegal guns.... The black market in arms trade is booming here, which crime gangs can easily access. But having less automatic guns in general in the community (which few people actually need - farmers being one exception etc) is a good thing I believe. Making it illegal means its harder for any lunatic to go on a shooting spree with an automatic rifle (I for one never want to see another Port Auther).

This is a tragic event, those kids will probably be scarred for life. Buts whats also disturbing about this event is that the police didnt seem too worried about an execution in broad daylight in front of 100s of people. If crimals arent afraid do this sought of thing in that situation, where has the law enforcement gone I ask? Violence by crime gangs has been on the rise in recent years - open warfare between gangs on the streets is becoming common. Theres big gang problems in perth and sydney - not just melbourne, not even mentioning the bikey gangs.

[ 06-24-2003, 05:00 AM: Message edited by: dragon_lord ]