Manifold Heights man Luke Shields threatened to kill children with spear gun

Children playing inside a Manifold Heights primary school were left “petrified” when a nearby resident pointed a spear gun at them and threatened to kill them.

Luke Shields pointed a spear gun at children playing in a Manifold Heights primary school. Picture: Facebook

A Geelong man pointed a spear gun at children playing in a Manifold Heights primary school and told them he would “kill” them.

Luke Shields, who lives across the road from the school, walked into the middle of the road with the weapon and told a group of 10 to 15 children, “I’m going to f---ing kill you, you’re all f---ed, get out of my face”.

Shields, who pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court to charges related to the incident, said he had been fishing with the spear gun.

A man conducting maintenance work at the school said he heard Shields “screaming” on the street and watched as the children ran from the basketball court “petrified” after what Shields had said.

Shields then walked back towards his home and shot the spear gun into the nature strip, the witness said.

When questioned by police, Shields said he did not threaten the children and instead told them to “relax as it was only a spear gun”.

Shields’ lawyer, Hollie Lyons, said the incident occurred on a pupil-free day and the children were older than primary school students.

She added aerial footage of the school places a large oval between Shields and the basketball court where the children were playing.

The prosecutor agreed there was some distance between Shields and the court but said if he was “yelling at the top of their voice”, it was likely the children heard what he was saying.

Shields also pleaded guilty to using a hammer to break into a St Leonards pharmacy to take an unknown amount of medication and stealing $150 worth of meats from a Coles.

The court heard Shields also concerned police in March 2021 when officers were called to the Corio Village shopping centre after reports the Manifold Heights man had told security he had been shot.

They found him by a nearby medical centre armed with a knife and observed a small scratch that was not consistent with a gun shot.

Ms Lyons said the “root cause” of his offending was his mental health issues and an “intervening drug issue that has clearly been on foot for a very, very long time”.

Magistrate Simon Guthrie gave a sentencing indication of 11 months’ imprisonment and adjourned the matter to allow Shields to be assessed for a community corrections order.

Shields will return at a later date for the official sentencing.

Originally published as Manifold Heights man Luke Shields threatened to kill children with spear gun