Darwin shooter’s ‘target’ not to be found

The original target of Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann has been identified.

Alleged shooter Ben Hoffman.

The luckiest man to be alive may be Alexandros Deligiannis, believe­d to be the original target of accused Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann.

Mr Deligiannis was nowhere to be found when Mr Hoffmann alleged­ly went on a murderous rampage on Tuesday, his absence almost certainly saving his life.

Instead, four other men were shot dead, including innocent bystanders caught up in a frenzied attempt to settle old scores.

Disputes over a woman and drug debts are the suspected motive­s, with Mr Hoffmann allegedly hunting a hit list of targets, includin­g Mr Deligiannis.

A member of a prominent local family, Mr Hoffmann, 45, has a history of amphetamine use.

His history shows an escalation in violence.

Authorities were monitoring Mr Hoffman but those efforts have allegedly failed and will come under scrut­iny by the Northern Territory government.

Mr Hoffmann appeared in court yesterday via video link, charged with four counts of murder, two of recklessly endanger ­serious harm and one of criminal damage. Police suspect he was again affected by ice.

“I’m very sorry for what’s happene­d,” he said during a lull in proceeding­s.

When NT Local Court Deputy Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris asked his lawyer, Peter Maley, whether he should be marked as “at risk”, Mr Hoffmann interrupted. “I do need help. I’ve asked for help,” he said.

Alexandros Deligiannis.

The difference between his alleged­ behaviour in this and other ice-fuelled rampages was that Mr Hoffman allegedly obtained a firearm and ammunition. The 12-gauge shotgun used in the attacks had been stolen more than 20 years ago, about the time Martin­ Bryant slaughtered 35 people at Port Arthur, leading to reform of the nation’s gun laws.

On the morning of the shooting, Mr Hoffmann was stopped for speeding on the Arnhem Highway — the road out to the world-famous Kakadu National Park. Police did not search his car. He was clocked by mobile speed camera­s twice more on his way into town.

Also that day, a long-term assoc­iate of his allegedly purchased ammunition for the shotgun in Darwin. His role is still under investigation.

At about 4pm, Mr Hoffmann was allegedly seen poking around properties on Jefferis Road in Humpty Doo, a semirural area of bush blocks and hobby farms about 40km south of Darwin.

A woman he visited said he was looking for a man with a “Greek name”. One resident reported spotting him with a gun, and called police. Officers went out there, but Mr Hoffmann was long gone.

The Top End may be famous elsewhere for its occasional gruesome murders or crocodile attacks, but to most locals it’s a sleepy sort of a place.

As the sun started to set and the out-of-town traffic was thinning after the 4.21pm public service rush, the alleged gunman was speeding the other way towards the Palms Motel.

A budget red-brick building on the edge of the city, the Palms is associated in the minds of some locals with popular vices. Just before­ 5.45pm, the first shots rang out there.

Terrified witnesses, who initial­ly thought the sounds were fireworks and opened their doors to see who was celebrating, encounter­ed a gun-toting man going from room to room shouting for someone called Alex.

Police apprehend Hoffman on Tuesday night. Picture: Keri Megelus

The Weekend Australian understa­nds NT police believe he was looking for Mr Deligiannis, after a falling-out over a woman, Kelly Collins. Court records show that, over the past nine months Mr Deligiannis has faced a string of charges­ relating to drugs, possessing prohibited weapons and driving­ offences. He is due to appea­r in court again next week.

The 42-year-old once co-owned a Melbourne cleaning business, before going through a marriage break-up, a friend said.

“He was the nicest guy you’ll ever meet and he was the hardest worker,” the friend said. “Got ­divorced, then he lost his way. I thought when he moved to Darwin­ he might have straightened up. I lose sleep over that bloke every night.”

It is believed Mr Deligiannis had previously stayed at the Palms but was out of town. One friend said he knew there was trouble and had already gone to ground.

Taxi driver Hassan Baydoun, 33, the first victim, was shot and killed at the motel. A long-term resident there, he had no known connection to Mr Hoffmann.

The killer’s next move was to shoot dead another innocent man, 75-year-old Nigel Hellings, at Gardens Hill Crescent, a leafy hamlet behind some of Darwin’s most popular car yards.

Mr Hellings appears to have had the misfortune of living in a unit block where a drug dealer had previously lived.

The third victim, roofer Mich­ael Sisois, 57, was shot dead in the carpark of the Buff Club, a pokies bar a few doors down from a sex shop on the Stuart Highway.

Mr Sisois knew Mr Hoffmann, but whether he was an intended target is unknown. His family said this week they believed Mr Hoffmann may have wrongly thought that Mr Sisois spiked his drink.

The final victim, Robert Courtney, 52, was shot dead at Darwin Recycling, a scrap-metal yard at Jolly Street in Woolner, close to the city, known for its dealings in cash. Mr Courtney lived in one of the modest flats on the site.

His flatmate, John Reid, was watching a movie in his room after a shower, waiting for the 6pm news.

Mr Reid looked out his window and saw a man in a Hi-Vis work shirt walk into the property, looking around. He watched as the man raised a shotgun and fired six to eight times through a door.

Fleeing to the back of the property, Mr Reid saw the gunman stare at him.

He said he looked “off the planet”, like he was on ice.

Another man, who Mr Reid knew only as “the skinny guy”, fled over a back fence.

As the gunman headed towards Mr Courtney’s room, Mr Reid ran off in his underwear, yellin­g at people in the street to go inside and asking a resident to call police.

CCTV footage allegedly shows Mr Hoffmann arriving at the scrap yard with a shotgun. He is later recorded leaving, shirtless and covered in blood. Police say one possibility is that Mr Courtney, a security guard at the Mindil Beach resort and casino, wounded Mr Hoffmann, helping to bring the shootings to an end.

Territory Response Group offic­ers came and left, chasing the gunman, who’d left in a white ute. Mr Courtney’s flatmates found him dead.

It had taken only half an hour to kill four people in four locations. Mr Hoffman allegedly attempted to kick his way into police headquarters in Berrimah, but failed. He was tasered and arrested at the intersection of Daly and McMinn streets, close to the Palms Motel, after phoning police and asking to be taken into custody.