Yamba dad’s cry of despair after shooting son, before turning gun on himself

A suicidal dad exclaimed “what have I done?’’ moments after neighbours heard a gunshot — the sound of him shooting dead his son Noah. Today Police Minister Yasmin Catley backed gun licencing conditions for people with mental health conditions.

EXCLUSIVE: NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has backed the introduction of a mandatory lockout period for people who have their gun licences revoked over mental health issues, in the wake of a tragic murder-suicide in Yamba.

Ms Catley, who on Wednesday announced a review into procedures surrounding firearms licensing when they have previously been revoked over mental health concerns, said she wanted action ahead of a coronial inquest after Yamba man Wayne Smith last week shot his 15-year-old son before turning the weapon on himself.

“I thought about that myself but let’s be guided by the experts. But yes, I think that could well be something … I thought about that too why we couldn’t have a couple of perhaps … check marks in there. So let’s see what comes out,” she said.

“But these are the sorts of things that I’m hoping that we’ll get out quite quickly, (so we’re) not having to wait for the coronial inquest.”

When asked about revelations Mr Smith was so unwell that his mother was cooking meals for him, Ms Catley said it was “not for me to say what happened between February when he received his licence back to his (mental) state just last week”.

Wayne Smith (left), who shot dead his son Noah last week in Yamba, had his guns taken off him by NSW Police in 2021 before his licence was reinstated last December.

“Obviously, if people had concerns then I would suggest that, generally speaking, if we see that people are struggling in the community, then it’s upon all of us to report that. But again, I think that it’s difficult to suggest what had occurred. I wasn’t there,” she said.

After struggling on Wednesday to say why Mr Smith had a gun licence, she said she understood “it was a general shooting licence”.

On Thursday morning, The Daily Telegeraph revealed that neighbours heard Mr Smith screaming in despair minutes after shooting his son dead in their home, before ultimately turning the gun on himself.

Mr Smith’s mental health had reportedly deteriorated so much that he relied on his elderly mother to cook meals for him and his 15-year-old son Noah, before he carried out the murder-suicide at their home in the early hours of last Thursday.

The Daily Telegraph understands it was Mr Smith’s mother who raised the alarm with police after she went to check on the pair at their Kookaburra Circuit home when they failed to turn up at her place for breakfast.

When police arrived at the address they found the father and son dead alongside each other in the same bed.

Wayne Smith had his firearm licence suspended because of mental health issues, before undergoing an independent review which ruled he was fit to have a licence. Pictures: NCA NewsWire

Neighbours said they heard a bang, followed by a man yelling “what have I done?” and then another bang.

Police sources said this matches up with the timeline of the incident as captured on CCTV audio.

Mr Smith had only been given back his three firearms – a .22 rifle, a .303 rifle and a shotgun – by police in December, after an independent psychiatrist ruled he was once again fit to possess the deadly weapons.

Officers had previously been ordered by the firearms registry to take the weapons away from Mr Smith in August 2021, when he admitted to having mental health issues – including suicidal thoughts – during his licence renewal process.

It is understood the weapons may have previously belonged to Mr Smith’s father who died in 2019.

His father’s death was one of a series of incidents, including the breakdown of his marriage, that impacted his mental health.

Mr Smith was not a member of the local Yamba Clay Target Shooting club, those linked to the club said.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley says changes will be made if recommended by the NSW Coroner. Picture: Richard Dobson

Police Minister Yasmin Catley announced on Wednesday she would ask the NSW Police Commissioner and NSW Health Secretary to examine the “current processes” around accessing a gun when mental health is a factor.

That came after The Daily Telegraph’s front page story revealed Mr Smith’s self-admitted battles during his firearms licence renewal application.

Locals in the quiet seaside town of Yamba, which is home to little more than 6000 people, admitted they had been left shocked by the tragedy.

Wayne Smith and his son Noah. Picture: Facebook

Sue Wigg said there wasn’t enough mental health support directed towards middle-aged men.

“It must be dreadful to come to a point where you can’t see any other way,” she said.

“It (mental health support) is mainly targeted at young people, teenagers … it’s not really at the middle aged people and I think that’s where we fall down greatly.”

Yamba resident Sue Wigg said men needed more mental health support. Picture: Natalie Grono

Ms Wigg said she believed many middle aged men have been brought up “old school” and tend to bottle up their pain.

“Women often talk to other women, whereas men feel they’re a bit wussy if they say something to their mates because they’re supposed to be masculine,” she said.

“They’re not as forthcoming with their emotions as women.”

Yamba resident Natisha Studdert, 19, admitted she was no gun expert but said she thought it was obvious that mental illness should be a key factor when determining people’s access to guns.

“It depends on the severity of the mental illness, but it wouldn’t be good if someone had depression,” Ms Studdert said.

Another woman, who did not want to be named because she knew the family, said the tragedy has affected the town.

“It’s had a big impact because the family is local, they lived just down the road, and it’s very, very sad,” she said.

“I think there should be (changes to firearm laws), particularly if there is a red flag there.

“I don’t see why people in town need firearms to be honest.

“It’s just a shame that he couldn’t have got the help that he obviously needed. It’s a sad scenario for everyone.”