The murder of a Perth mother and daughter, shot dead in their own home in what the state government has called an act of domestic violence, could see further reforms to WA's gun laws, the premier says.
WARNING: This story contains details that may distress some readers.
On Friday afternoon Mark James Bombara shot 59-year-old Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter, 18-year-old Gretl, at their Floreat home.
It's believed the 63-year-old had been searching for his ex-wife who had been staying at the house.
When he couldn't find her, he shot Ms Petelczyc and her daughter before turning the gun on himself.
Police were on the street when the final shot was fired.
Premier Roger Cook said he understood police had previously been involved in the breakdown of Bombara's relationship with his wife, but that he would be briefed further on the investigation today.
"We need to understand that Bombara's wife was supported as part of that breakdown of that relationship, we want to continue to understand what extra steps they could have taken if we had different firearm laws in place," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"And that's obviously, as a government, one of my key objectives, is to understand what more can we do to equip the police to be able to support people in these situations."
Shooter owned 13 guns
Parliament is currently considering firearms laws the state government describes as the "toughest in the nation".
The final change was needed, the government said, because under current laws a restraining order can strip someone of their guns, but that was "often" challenged through the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).
Figures from the government in October last year showed 415 licences were revoked or suspended due to family and domestic violence or violence restraining order matters in the year before.
At the time, seven of those had been reinstated by the SAT, with 10 still pending.
It is not clear if Bombara was subject to a restraining order, or whether he would have been affected by that change.
Loading...But it is understood he owned 13 guns – something which would not have been legal under the new laws.
"I've asked the police minister to look at what other small amendments we could make that would make it even tougher," Mr Cook said.
"But I stress, we simply want to get these laws through the parliament to make sure that police can work with modern laws."
He said police received "a whole range of intelligence all the time, in terms of situations which are deteriorating".
"They should be given the powers that they need to be able to intervene, and make sure that they can arrest the situation and make sure that they can take those guns out of harm's way."
The WA Nationals oppose the legislation, while the Liberals "have a number of concerns".
An ePetition calling on the government to "support law-abiding owners of firearms" and "prioritise its taxpayer funded resources towards those who possess and use unlicensed firearms" attracted 32,234 signatures, breaking a record set by a petition against the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act last year.
Murders were domestic violence: minister
Speaking in Broome, WA's Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, Sabine Winton, reiterated the government's belief that the murders were an act of domestic violence.
Police said on the weekend the murders did not meet that definition because the victims and the gunman were not related.
"Everyone knows, in the community, what this was," Ms Winton said.
"This was an act of violence against women for no other reason than they were supporting a victim trying to flee a relationship.
"Any act of violence against any women is totally unacceptable, it's abhorrent and it was a gutless act."
Ms Winton would not say what gun reforms could have helped in this instance, but said reducing the number of guns in the community would "increase the safety of women in our community".
More monitoring promised
Mr Cook also promised that legislation to mandate the use of GPS monitoring for some family and domestic violence offenders would be introduced to parliament next month.
There wasn't any money for the expansion in the state budget, but Department of Justice acting director general, Kylie Maj, told budget estimates last week that was being worked on.
"There [are] other components specifically around community supervision, services for victims and the like, as well as extra police. All of that will be considered in the funding submission," she said.
"Until we have a draft bill, we cannot work out exactly the impact on resourcing."
Attorney General John Quigley said the trackers were leased for about $20 a day.
University offers support
The news came as UWA vice-chancellor Amit Chakma wrote to students on Monday morning to offer the university's condolences to those close to the murdered pair, and support for those who were struggling after the death.
"It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the death of UWA student Gretl Petelczyc and her mother Jennifer Petelczyc in tragic and violent circumstances on Friday evening," Professor Chakma wrote.
"Gretl was a dedicated student undertaking a Bachelor of Science and a talented member of the UWA Water Polo Club.
"We are deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of such a young life and acknowledge the grief as our students, staff and community reflect on these horrific circumstances.
"This will be a very difficult time for Gretl's family, friends and for all of us in the UWA community."
Loadinghttps://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA1LTI3L2Zsb3JlYXQtbXVyZGVyLXN1aWNpZGUtamVubmlmZXItZ3JldGwtcGV0ZWxjenljLWd1bi1sYXdzLzEwMzg5NTk0NNIBAA?oc=5
2024-05-27 02:26:15Z
CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTA1LTI3L2Zsb3JlYXQtbXVyZGVyLXN1aWNpZGUtamVubmlmZXItZ3JldGwtcGV0ZWxjenljLWd1bi1sYXdzLzEwMzg5NTk0NNIBAA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Floreat shooting: WA gun law reforms could be strengthened after murder of mother, daughter - ABC News"
Post a Comment