Massacre of Aramoana

The massacre of Aramoana is a fact the various which has occurred November 13rd and 14th 1990 in the town of Aramoana in New Zealand. One of the citizens of this city, David Gray (Nov. 20, 1956 - Nov. 14, 1990), an unemployed collector of weapons, killed 13 people, before being cut down by the police force.

Chronology of the facts

The incident started with a dispute of Gray with its Holden neighbor, who reproached him for having had hard remarks towards his daughter. Confrontation between the two men envenima, Gray turned over at his place to take a rifle, and drew on Holden. Immediately afterwards, it penetrated in the property of Holden, and crossed the girl, Chiquita, which it wounded of a projectile. This one was run away in the house of a friend, Julie Ann Bryson, discovering, on the way, the body of his/her lying father on the belly. Bryson telephoned the authorities, then, realizing that her Rewa daughter and the sister of Chiquita, Jasmine, had remained in the house of Holden, it took with Chiquita its light van to try to save them. Gray drew on the light van when he saw it arriving, which caused its flashover.

Consequently, Gray started to draw by chance, killing in first Vanessa Percy which descended terrorized the street while running, then two young boys, Lion Wilson and Dion Percy. Their Stacey sister was seriously reached with the abdomen. Ross Percy (the father of the three children, which on their premises accompanied back them in the car, before stopping to know from which the first shot came) and Alec Tali were killed then. Gray entered then the house of Tim Jamieson and killed it, him and another inhabitant, Vic Crimp. The following victims were Jim Dickson and Chris Cole, which died later in the hospital.

The police force of Chalmers port arrived shortly after. The sergeant Stewart Guthrie located the exaggerated one and made a warning shot. Gray shouted “do not draw! ”, letting accept the officer whom it coopérait. However, Gray opened fire abruptly, and killed instantaneously Guthrie of a ball in the head.

A few minutes later, a brigade of special intervention the Armed Offenders Squad unloaded (followed shortly after Special Tactics Group , brigade anti-terrorist), and buckled the city (the New Zealand police officers generally do not carry of firearms; the situation was particularly dangerous since the rifle of Gray (Norinco .223 derivative AK) was provided with a sight tube, which authorized a good precision on a long range. In the first hours of November 14th, the brigade anti-terrorist started to enter Aramoana, while seeking in the houses.

Gray was finally localized: it had entered a house and had succumbed to tiredness during the night. teargases were thrown in this house and Gray left there while running, the gun in action, while howling “Kill me, kill me, band the bastard ones! ”. The police force answered the shots and reached Gray by five times, concerning the head and the chest, which almost killed it on the blow. Its death since is regarded as an example of the Suicide by interposed police force. ^,

The carbonized bodies of Rewa Bryson and Jasmine Holden were found in what remained house of Holden. Gray made 13 victims, leaving the devastated town of Aramoana.

Because of serious nature of this incident, and important difficulties encountered by the police force to manage such a situation, an emergency plan implying the use of the Special Air Service off New Zealand , a unit of commandos, was discussed by the leaders of the operation, at the point to put this regiment in state of alert. The New Zealand laws prohibit any intervention of the army without authorization express of the Prime Minister (who must refer about it thereafter to the Parliament as fast as possible). The police force was able to solve the situation without this type of deployment becoming necessary. The massacre of Aramoana is the only case in the history of New Zealand where the Special Air Service off New Zealand was placed in state of alert for if required answering an interior problem.

Causes

The states mental and physical of David Gray had worsened a few months before the massacre. Retrospectively, it is probable that it was reached of Schizophrénie. There were certain signs of its progressive mental decline: it had indeed lost his some friends in their inflicting paranoiac charges, and less and less took care of its appearance.

It could be also that it was influenced by its readings, as private individuals by the books of the American author Kurt Saxon. Many other books of its library referred to the weapons, survival and the Violence.

Consequences

The massacre of Aramoana is notable for the number of children, killed women and elderly. Of the 13 victims, 3 were women, 2 of the children, and 2 had an age higher than 60 years. Moreover, the two surviving ones were two young girls.

Three days after the incident, the house of Gray located at the 27 Muri Street was set fire to by the unknown ones, and fire was propagated even on all the surface of the property.

From this incident, it resulted indirectly in 1992 an amendment on the wearing of weapons in New Zealand, which related primarily to a more thorough control of the weapons in the country. The majority of the officers implied in the business accepted a Gallantry Awards . As for the Guthrie sergeant, it was decorated on a purely posthumous basis with the George Cross . A memorial of the victims was set up in the city.

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