Unlicensed security guard charged after carrying semiautomatic gun through Bourke St

AN unlicensed security guard seen carrying a semiautomatic gun through Bourke Street mall, just days after the January killings, has been charged with more than 130 offences.

AN unlicensed security guard seen carrying a semiautomatic gun through Bourke St mall, just days after the January killings, has been charged with more than 130 offences.

The 27-year-old Berwick man was seen wandering through the busy shopping strip wearing black commando gear, with a gun strapped to his thigh, on January 25.

The incident happened less than a week after Dimitrious Gargasoulas allegedly killed six when he ploughed his car into a crowd of people in the CBD on January 20.

Gargasoulas is accused of deliberately driving a car into pedestrians on Bourke St, killing six and injuring dozens. Picture: Wayne Taylor/Getty Images

The security contractor has been charged with 67 counts of possessing a handgun without a licence, 67 counts of acting as a security guard without a licence, using a false document and attempting to use a false document.

While police will not say who hired the man as an armed guard, the investigation remains ongoing and the security firm could still face charges for failing to check if he was a valid gun licence holder.

MAN SEEN CARRYING A GUN DAYS AFTER THE BOURKE STREET MASSACRE

The company in question had both their corporate firearm licence and private security business licence suspended following questioning by detectives in March.

The Herald Sun contacted shops in the mall, as well as the City of Melbourne, at the time asking whether they had hired the contractor.

A City of Melbourne spokesman refused to confirm whether the council had employed private security to monitor the mall following the tragedy.

The man is expected to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on November 8.

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