Strathfield massacre

Strathfield massacre
Strathfield massacre
	Wade Frankum
Location	Strathfield
Coordinates	33°52′22″S 151°05′35″E / 33.8729°S 151.0931°E
Date	17 August 1991 ; c. 3:30 p.m.–3:40 p.m. (GMT+10)
Target	Strathfield Plaza
Attack type	Mass shooting, massacre, mass murder, murder–suicide
Weapons	50cm Bowie knife ; Norinco SKS
Deaths	8 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	6
Perpetrator	Wade John Frankum
Motive	Unknown

The Strathfield massacre was a shooting rampage at a shopping centre in Strathfield, Sydney, Australia, on 17 August 1991. The shooter was Wade Frankum, who killed himself as police arrived at the scene. The incident left eight dead and six wounded.

Perpetrator

Wade John Frankum was born in 1958 and had worked at various occupations including as a retail assistant. In the apartment where Frankum lived alone,^[2] police found a large collection of violent literature and video copies of violent films. One of his books was a well-thumbed copy of American Psycho and although there is no direct evidence that the controversial novel had inspired Frankum, a number of suggestions that it had done so were made in newspapers.^{[citation needed]} Frankum also owned a copy of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Investigators suggested that both his reading and viewing habits contributed to his motivation for the shooting.^[3]

Rampage

At around 1:00 p.m., 33-year-old Frankum went to Strathfield Plaza, a shopping centre in the Inner West of Sydney. He sat in a café called The Coffee Pot, where he drank a number of cups of coffee.^{[citation needed]}

At approximately 3:30 p.m., apparently without provocation, Frankum pulled a large knife from an army surplus duffel bag and repeatedly stabbed one of two teenage girls who were sitting behind him, killing the girl.^[4]

Leaving the knife in the body of the girl, he pulled a Chinese-made SKS^[5] semi-automatic rifle out of his duffel and shot around the café, killing five more people. He then shot the café's owner dead and fled into the main area of the centre, where he killed his last victim.^[6]

Frankum ran into the rooftop car park and held a car owner at gunpoint, demanding that she take him to Enfield, a nearby suburb.^[4] Before the woman could start her car, police began to arrive on the scene with Constable Darren Stewart the first to arrive. He was shot at in his police car by Frankum from the car park rooftop, Stewart had run through the Strathfield shopping centre to engage Frankum, but, upon arriving at the carpark rooftop, Frankum shot numerous rounds into the door leading to the carpark, pinning down Stewart. Upon hearing more approaching sirens, Frankum apologised to the woman and then got out of the car, knelt on the ground, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.^[6]

Victims

Frankum's shooting spree lasted around 10 minutes. He killed seven people and injured six,^[4] none of them personally known to him.

Victims:^[7]

Roberta Armstrong, age 15
Robertson Kan Hock Voon, age 51
Patricia Rowe, age 37
Carole Dickinson, age 47
Joyce Nixon, age 61
Rachelle Milburn, age 17
George Mavris, age 51^[8]

Bravery award

Greg Read, 41, a father of three and Vietnam veteran, was awarded the Star of Courage for saving the lives of eight people during the rampage.^[9]

References

^ "COURTS AND THE LAW Strathfield gunman was a caring person, sister tells inquest". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 670. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 November 1991. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
^ (18 August 1991). A Masked Gunman Kills 6 at a Mall in Australia, The New York Times
^ Lowe, Barry (1995). Media Mythologies. University of New South Wales Press. p. 65. ISBN 0868400068.
^ ^a ^b ^c Brenden Hills (12 August 2008). "Strathfield Massacre". News Local. News Community Media. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013.
^ "Gunman held licence for $3". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 584. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 August 1991. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b "Strathfield Massacre: How Wade Frankum killed seven and injured six before turning gun on himself on August 17, 1991". The Daily Telegraph. 2 March 2015.
^ "Man 'planned mass murder in a very public place'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 668. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 November 1991. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
^ (17 August 2011). Strathfield massacre victims remembered. burwoodscene.com.au.
^ "Unsung Hero of Strathfield's Massacre Honoured". www.canberratimes.com.au. Retrieved 13 June 2016.

External links

[1] "COURTS AND THE LAW Strathfield gunman was a caring person, sister tells inquest". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 670. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 November 1991. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.

[nyt-2] (18 August 1991). A Masked Gunman Kills 6 at a Mall in Australia, The New York Times

[memy-3] Lowe, Barry (1995). Media Mythologies. University of New South Wales Press. p. 65. ISBN 0868400068.

[wilsm-4] Brenden Hills (12 August 2008). "Strathfield Massacre". News Local. News Community Media. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013.

[5] "Gunman held licence for $3". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 584. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 August 1991. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.

[thedailytelegraph-6] "Strathfield Massacre: How Wade Frankum killed seven and injured six before turning gun on himself on August 17, 1991". The Daily Telegraph. 2 March 2015.

[7] "Man 'planned mass murder in a very public place'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 668. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 November 1991. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.

[8] (17 August 2011). Strathfield massacre victims remembered. burwoodscene.com.au.

[9] "Unsung Hero of Strathfield's Massacre Honoured". www.canberratimes.com.au. Retrieved 13 June 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]