Brighton hostage drama: Gunshots leave confused residents in shock
A MAN has described how he was thrown to the ground and had guns pointed at him after police mistook him for the Brighton gunman.
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A MAN has described how he was thrown to the ground and had guns pointed at him after police mistook him for the Brighton gunman.
Bill Tsipas said he was seeing a friend on the lower level of the Buckingham Serviced Apartments when he heard the gunshots.
He said he walked out to the driveway, when the Special Operations Group police officers ordered him to get on to the ground, before handcuffing him.
“I had the SWAT team pointing guns at me, and I was thrown to the ground, face to the dirt and hands behind my back,” Mr Tsipas said.
“Guns getting pointed at me everywhere (in the driveway).
“After an hour and a half of handcuffs on me, they’ve taken the handcuffs off me, and before I knew it, I’ve started hearing bang, bang, bang and everyone’s started running.”
Mr Tsipas said his car was still in the apartment’s driveway which he was not allowed to access while police investigated the incident.
BRIGHTON GUNMAN CUT OFF BRACELET
PM: ‘HOW WAS THIS MAN ON PAROLE?’
TIMELINE OF THE BRIGHTON HOSTAGE DRAMA
‘THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN IN BRIGHTON’
EXPLOSIONS and gunfire pierced the air in the quiet suburban streets of Brighton last night.
Schoolkids, parents and elderly tourists ran for their lives as a volley of gunshots rang out from a small block of apartments.
Moments earlier, police had been chatting with locals who had walked from their homes, some in dressing gowns and carrying cups of tea, to see what the commotion was.
“This kind of thing doesn’t happen in Brighton,” a man said, just moments before the first shot.
Caught by surprise, the police, who had been directing traffic, screamed at the crowd that had gathered to run to the nearby Coles supermarket and get inside.
Luke Fourniotis had parked his truck in a nearby side street and had wandered down to “check it out” a few minutes earlier.
“I was chatting to one of the cops, just being curious, then all of sudden we just hear all these shots,” the 22-year-old said.
“Everyone just panicked. I started running but I didn’t know where the shots were coming from so I had this thought: ‘Are they shooting at us?’ My heart was in my throat. Yeah, it was scary.”
Witness Ben Vieth was standing on his balcony about 150m from the scene when gunfire erupted just after 6pm.
“Next minute, we heard the machinegun go off,’’ he said.
“It was absolutely terrifying. “It went for probably three or four seconds — just constant fire. The police were just screaming at people to run and take cover.
“People were just ducking and running. I was just in shock. I couldn’t stand up.
“It was full on. The noise was just deafening. It wasn’t a couple of shots. It sounded like 20 or 30 shots.”
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HOW IT UNFOLDED
POLICE receive a report of an explosion at a Brighton Bay Street apartment just after 4pm
A FEMALE calls 000 at 4.11pm and states there is a hostage situation and a deceased man.
POLICE arrive at the scene and locate the body of a man in the foyer of the building. He appears to have been fatally shot.
IT is alleged the male perpetrator calls Channel Seven stating “this is for IS”.
ADDITIONAL police resources are called.
POLICE cordon the area, roads are closed and a local swimming pool is evacuated.
MAN exits the serviced apartment buildings and opens fire at police. He is shot dead by police shortly before 6pm.
TWO police officers are taken to hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds. Another officer is treated at the scene.
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As soon as the machinegun went off, four ambulances sped to the scene, he said.
“Then I just heard two police were shot.”
Mr Fourniotis and a group of more than 20 terrified onlookers ran through red lights as cars trying to detour away from the intersection slammed on their brakes.
“We don’t have crime around here,” a local told the Herald Sun. “This doesn’t make sense, why here?”
Mandy Sharp was at the Brighton Swim School with her two children, aged seven and nine, when the explosion occurred.
“A little girl was outside at the time and came in and said she heard a gun shot,” Ms Sharp said.
Another woman working at the swim centre said she could smell the gun powder.
Around 30 young children and adults were evacuated from the indoor centre, with many pulled from the water midway through their afternoon swimming lessons.
“We had to stay calm for the kids,” Ms Sharp said. “But it was pretty scary,” she said.
The local mother was among dozens of people who were forced to leave their belongings and flee the area.
Ms Sharp said she kept calling the local police station to find out more information but was left in the dark.
“I have to leave my car here overnight,” she said.
“The kids and I will have to take an uber to school tomorrow.”
As TV crews began setting up their cameras and police began doorknocking nearby businesses and neighbours, the quiet and unsuspecting street had somehow become the centre of a violent tale.
Almost two hours later, and most of the curious residents had retreated back to their homes, many too cold to keep vigil on the sidewalk.
But others remained, desperate to figure out what had happened in their suburban backyard.