GUN CRIME: Five shocking Southern Downs shootings

Our region’s troubling history with gun possession over the past decade is troubling.

SHOOTING: The gun related stories that shock our community over the past years.

THE Southern Downs region's history with shootings and gun possession is a troubling one.

Here's a look back at the most serious occasions when the weapon was used in offences that fronted Warwick courts.

 

POLICE ALLEGE 'CASUAL DRINKS' TURNED INTO MURDER

EARLIER this year, a 38-year-old man was shot dead.

Detective Inspector Matt Howard said a group of four was having "casual drinks" at a Glen Rd residence, when Benjamin James Nunns and the deceased allegedly got into an argument.

Police have alleged the victim was hit over the head repeatedly with an undisclosed object before being shot in the face by Mr Nunns.

Mr Nunns is remanded in police custody after his case was heard before the Warwick Magistrate Court in April.

Latest update here.

 

MAN ACCUSED OF SHOOTING HIS MOTHER

IN FEBRUARY, an alleged shooting incident led Southern Downs police on a six-hour siege.

Police claim they were called to a private residence on Leyburn-Cunningham Rd after a 67-year-old woman, later found out to be the mother of the alleged shooter, rang police saying she had been shot.

It is alleged the man fired a shotgun at police a number of times throughout the evening until police claim he attempted to flee and had to be tasered.

After hearing his bail application in February, Magistrate Graham Lee refused bail and the man has been remanded in custody since.

Latest update here.

 

 

FATHER OF BOY SHOT IN FACE PLEADS GUILTY TO WEAPONS CHARGES

In 2018, the father of a Cottonvale boy who was accidentally shot in the face fronted Warwick Magistrates Court in a heartbreaking reminder of gun safety.

Roberto Gabriel Calvisi, 29, was originally charged with one count of unlawful possession of weapons but picked up an extra charge after the grandfather of the boy, Antonio Giovanni Calvisi, 63, had his charge of insecure storage of weapons dropped.

Son Cameron was playing in the shed at the family's apple orchard when his young relative grabbed a rifle from the back of a ute, and it accidentally set off.

Acting Magistrate Roger Stark fined Calvisi $600 and no convictions were recorded.

Full story here.

 

GUN FIRE, SIEGE LEADS TO SENTENCE

AFTER barricading himself inside his home, firing two bullets into a wall and forcing police to cordon off Warner Street in a three-hour siege, Wayne Stanley Simon fronted court in 2007.

Simon, pleaded guilty to one charge of discharging a firearm in a public space, one charge of failing to keep a weapon in secure storage and another charge of breaching bail.

The active member of the shooter's club was allowed probation on the condition he received counselling.

A conviction was not recorded.

Full story here.

 

BIKIE TASK FORCE INVESTIGATE DRIVE-BY SHOOTING

SPECIAL bikie police task force, Task force Maxima, was brought to town in the wake of this drive-by shooting in 2016.

In October, a car stopped in front of a Gilbert Crescent residence and fired a number of shots at the house.

Luckily, all four residents were uninjured but it sparked a community cry for better police surveillance.

No one was ever charged for the attack.

Full story here.

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