He shouldn’t have been out: Suspected mass shooter had mental issues, former associate says

Suspected shooter Ben Hoffman needed mental health help and didn’t get it, former associate says.

Suspected shooter Ben Hoffmann. Source: Facebook

Suspected Darwin gunman Ben Hoffmann had serious mental health problems and “should have been in an institution”, says a man who served time with him.

“The government is going on about this, that and the other. As far as I’m concerned they’re to blame,” the associate told The Australian, of the 45-year-old man police expect to charge — and is now in police custody — with murder after four men died and a woman was injured in an alleged mass shooting in Darwin on Tuesday night.

Hoffman was on parole at the time of the alleged offences.

“He shouldn’t have been out on bail, he shouldn’t have even been in jail — he should have been in an institution,” the associate said.

He said the two men served time in the Datjala work camp on the outskirts of Nhulunbuy about 18 months to two years ago. They had known each other years earlier.

“I got put with him in the kitchen,” he said.

“I went in and spoke to the senior guard and said, `Mate you cannot put me in there, this guy’s got mental health issues’.”

The camp accommodates about 50 prisoners. Hoffmann, who asked other inmates to call him The Hoff in the camp, was “off the planet” and officials knew it.

“The bloke was screaming out for mental health help and never got any.

“He was pushed all around in jail and then sent out to a work camp because they couldn’t handle him in jail.

“None of the officers wanted to deal with him. They promised if I went in the kitchen with him for two weeks they’d give me a job.”

“Always off the air”

Hoffmann would go on escorted visits to church each Sunday and on approved weekend fishing trips.

They last ran into each other in the supermarket about a month ago.

“He was flighty as all f**k — not saying he was going to go and kill anyone or anything, he was just off the air. He’s always off the air.”

Hoffman is subdued by police on Tuesday night. Picture: Keri Megelus

The work camp “educates and rehabilitates prisoners through training, education, employment and support programs”, a government website says.

A friend who went to Sanderson high school with Hoffmann, and who used to live with him more than 20 years ago, said Hoffmann had been “one of the better, most keenest fishermen I’ve ever seen”.

On the town, “anyone give him shit, he’d punch your mouth in”.

Asked about the claims around Hoffman’s mental state, he said: “That’s what f*****g drugs do to you mate. They f**k your brain.

“That’s the reason why he was in there for six years last time. Then obviously he got off of that. He’s obviously been clean because he gets drug tested all the time.”

The friend was waiting to see if he knew the other victims, saying there was “obviously a motive behind it”.

“Whether you guys tell the truth about it or whether it comes out later on, there will be a motive,” he said.

“There will be a logical reason why it all happened. You don’t just go and do that’s sort of shit for no reason.

“Some of the people who are dead are most likely my mates as well.”

Looking for “Alex”

Earlier, police revealed Hoffman was looking for a man named “Alex”, and they had not ruled out the possibility he may have had accomplices when he went on his alleged violent rampage through the city on Tuesday night.

As Police Commissoner Reece Kershaw today outlined the sequence of events leading up to Hoffman being tasered and taken into custody, the NT government ordered a full review of all parolees after it emerged that Mr Hoffman was granted parole in January.

He had served four years of a six-year sentence for a spree of violent offences committed in 2014.

Corrections Commissioner Scott McNairn acknowledged that he and his department had recommended Mr Hoffmann be given bail at the start of this year, but declined to admit any fault.

Police today released details of three vehicles they believe Mr Hoffmann used during or shortly before yesterday’s roughly Two-and-a-half hour long attack.

Witnesses reported seeing an armed man going from room to room at a downtown motel, apparently looking for someone he wanted to kill.

NT Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw confirmed police believe the alleged shooter was looking for one person when he went on his shooting spree across Darwin’s CBD.

He confirmed that police believe that individual’s name is Alex, and that Alex is actually interstate.

“We’ve located that individual and we’ve spoken to him,” he said.

“Initial indications suggest it may be that he was looking for certain individuals.”

“It’s based on some of our witnesses who’ve indicated he was looking for certain people. One in particular we know was interstate and used to reside at a particular address.”

No leads on motive

Commissioner Kershaw said police still need to interview the suspect to determine why he killed four men and injured a woman.

He said his officers were yet to determine if the alleged offender acted impulsively or planned his actions while on supervised release from jail.

“We’ve obviously got to interview that individual before he’s charged with murder,” Commissioner Kershaw said.

He confirmed his officers were investigating possible links between Mr Hoffmann’s actions and grievances related to drug debts or his time in jail.

“That’s definitely an avenue of inquiry for us,” Commissioner Kershaw said.

Sequence of events

Police believe Tuesday’s crime spree began at about 4.15pm in Humpy Doo, a rural area about 40 minutes outside Darwin.

The alleged offender may have been looking for someone in that area who he did not find.

Between 5.30pm 5.52pm, he was at 19 Finniss Street in Darwin, where taxi driver Hassan Baydoun was allegedly shot while on a meal break.

Darwin taxi driver Hassan Baydoun has been confirmed as one of the dead. Picture: Facebook

From 5.54pm to 5.57pm he was at 18 Gardens Hill Crescent, just around the corner, and a few minutes later, at 5.59pm, at the Buff Club.

From there, he went to Jolly Street in the industrial suburb of Woolner from 6.09pm to 6.13pm.

At around 6.22pm, he tried to kick his way into police headquarters in the outer Darwin suburb of Berrimah, leaving a few minutes later.

Sometime after that, he contacted police by telephone and agreed to be taken into custody. He was tasered and arrested at a Darwin intersection at 6.44pm.

Prohibited shotgun

Commissioner Kershaw said the weapon believed to have been used on all five victims was a prohibited pump-action shotgun that may have been stolen as long ago as 1997.

About 100 officers were involved in the investigation, and the number of crime scenes had been expanded to eight.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said his government would “do everything in its power to determine what led to these tragic events and how this violence occurred.”

“There is a police investigation; there will be a court case; there will be a coronial. Police will have an independent review of the incident … we have asked for a detailed report from the parole board on the alleged offender. We have directed an immediate review of everyone on parole,” Mr Gunner said.

“This work will be thorough, and it will be completed by the end of next week.

“While we have no reason to believe that an event like this will happen again, it is critical that we make every effort to ensure that it does not.”

Commissioner McNairn confirmed that he and his department had recommended Mr Hoffmann be released on parole.

Parole breach

“While on parole, the offender received one minor breach for breaking his curfew by less than an hour and was subject to a 14-day custodial sentence as a result,” Commissioner McNairn said.

“He was subject, during his time on parole, to random drug testing, all of which returned negative tests. His last drug test was on 21 May 2019.”

In total 46 of the 103 people currently out on parole in the NT were subject to electronic monitoring, and there would be a review of all cases.

It is understood Mr Hoffman did not remove his electronic monitoring bracelet during the series of alleged attacks.

“This person was on parole with conditions and being monitored by Corrections,” Commissioner McNairn said.

“It’s clear that an awful, awful event occurred yesterday, and we need to investigate what happened … we are not jumping to conclusions.”

Commissioner Kershaw said police were not aware of any co-offenders but were “talking to a number of individuals associated with this individual”.

The relationships between Mr Hoffmann and his alleged victims remained were still being investigated, but at least some of those killed are believed to have been innocent bystanders.

Family of alleged shooter extend condolences

Ben Hoffmann’s brother, Clinton, issued a statement on behalf of the family.

In it, he addressed what he called “public speculation” that the offender was Ben Hoffmann.

“It is important at this time to allow the proper and thorough investigation of these matters by the Northern Territory police and I do not wish to do or say anything that might interfere with or compromise that investigation,” the statement said.

“Having said that, I wish to express my, and my family’s deepest condolences to all of those affected by those events including the families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives, the injured woman and those who came into harm’s way. We are as shocked and distressed about these events as the community around us.

“In the fullness of time, it may be appropriate to say more. At present, I thank my friends and colleagues for their understanding and their expression of support, especially to me, my mother and other members of my family.

“In the interests of allowing legal matters to properly run their course, I will not be making a further public statement on these matters at this time.”