Two dead, one injured in Devonport shooting
“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Tributes have started flowing for the victim of a triple shooting in Devonport with the man’s cousin describing him as “someone you could always count on”. LATEST >>
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LATEST: SHOOTING victim Chris Walters was a man “you could always count on”, his cousin Mark Walters says, as the Devonport community continues to reel from the shock triple shooting in the North-West city on Saturday.
Mr Walters, 39, told the Sunday Tasmanian he loved Chris as a brother and revealed that the victim had recently became a father for the first time.
Mr Walters, 39 said Chris was an only child, but he was known as his brother.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Mr Walters said.
“He’s not long ago had a little girl, it is so sad.
“Me and my brother John (and Chris) were known as brothers in Burnie and we did everything together.
“He was a wonderful person ... no one had a bad word to say about him. Chris was someone you could always count on, especially if you were down.”
Mr Walters said Chris, who was aged in his mid 30s, had been working in Albury but had recently returned to Tasmania and was enjoying being a father for the first time.
“He was over the moon at being a dad, he was sending photos when she was born,” he said.
“She’s the spitting image of him and he’d been wanting a child for ages.
“I’ve got five kids and it was my son’s 11th birthday today and Chris loved all of them so much.
“He was a great uncle to them.”
Mr Walters said Chris and his partner’s baby daughter had been staying with Chris’s mother at the time of the shootings.
“They just wanted a bit of time together,” he said.
William St resident Tim Ivory said the woman injured in the shooting came to his house for help.
“She came to my back door and was banging on the door, said ‘I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot’,” he said.
Fears for kids who witnessed shooting
IT is a scene police are trained to deal with, but most won’t face.
A woman outside a home bleeding heavily and requiring urgent medical assistance. Inside a man is dead and another is dying. Also in the house are two children – a 10-year-old boy and a 12-month-old baby.
The 10-year-old has seen more than those first attending officers. In his own home two people were killed in a shooting. His mother seriously injured after being shot.
Just how much of what unfolded he witnessed is not clear, but police believe he saw a significant amount of what happened.
Detective Inspector Kim Steven said it would be traumatic for anyone to witness.
“I have viewed the body-worn footage of the initial attending uniform officers and it’s pretty confronting,” he said.
“The 12-month-old is probably not likely to remember much, which is a blessing, but the 10-year-old is going to have to have some serious therapy, there’s no doubt about that.”
He said the welfare team had provided support to attending officers and would provide ongoing assistance to them and paramedics who attended the scene.
“We are trained for this, but there’s only a very small amount of police that will attend a scene like that, basically an active person, or shots being fired,” Inspector Steven said.
Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff said her thoughts were with the family.
“It’s obviously an incredibly sad event, a loss of life, particularly to violence is really sad,” she said.
“We are a connected community and I am sure there are a lot of family and friends that are really struggling.”
She urged anyone who had been affected to reach out to support services.
Inspector Steven had a simple message to the community as it works to heal: “Give your kids a hug, and try and be kind to each other.”
LATEST DETAILS: A 10-year-old boy is believed to have witnessed a horrific shooting that left two dead and another seriously injured in a suburban Devonport home.
Shortly before 1am on Saturday, gun shots rang out from the Williams Street residence.
Detective Inspector Kim Steven said the evidence indicated a man shot dead another man at the home and attempted to take the life of a woman before shooting himself.
The seriously injured woman went to a neighbour for assistance, who called police.
“Police arrived and there was a further shot after the police arrived, which we believe was the offender taking his own life,” he said.
He said first attending officers were helping the woman with her injuries outside before paramedics arrived and had not entered the home before the final shot was fired.
Police are working to establish the alleged shooter’s movements ahead of the incident and how he came to be in possession of the firearm.
His car and the vehicle belonging to the man that was killed have been seized by police and are being inspected by the forensic team as part of the investigation.
Inspector Kim Steven said a 10-year-old boy and a 12-month-old baby also in the home while the shooting was happening were the children of the injured woman who lived there.
“The 10-year-old witnessed a fair portion of what occurred and so they have been seen to by a psychologist and are in the care of a grandmother,” Inspector Steven said.
The injured woman was taken to Launceston General Hospital for treatment and was in a serious but stable condition, with non-life threatening injuries.
Authorities said she underwent surgery to remove pellets.
The two men and the woman are aged in their 30s and from Tasmania’s North-West.
Inspector Steven said they were all known to each other and the relationship between them was a matter the coroner would be working through.
“There is nothing to indicate any further people are involved, so there is no further threat to the community,” he said.
Authorities are yet to reveal what type of firearm was used in the shooting.
It was quiet on the usually busy Williams Street on Saturday morning as residents awoke to the news and expressed shock at what had happened.
Police tape as well as the forensic teams and police officers who spent the day at the home were a glaring reminder of the horrific event.
Road blocks were established around the home, preventing traffic and pedestrians getting any closer than about 500 metres from the scene.
They are expected to remain in place until at least Sunday as investigations are carried out, with only residents of the street allowed through.
INITIAL STORY: A WOMAN has been injured and a man killed after being shot by a man who then turned the gun on himself and took his own life.
The shooting happened at a Devonport home about 1am on Saturday morning.
Detective Inspector Kim Steven said a 10-year-old boy at the home witnessed a significant amount of what unfolded.
“It’s traumatic for anyone to witness. That the 12-month-old is probably not likely to remember much, which is a blessing, but the 10-year-old is going to have to have some serious therapy, there’s no doubt about that.”
The woman who was shot went to a neighbour’s house for assistance, who called police.
“Police arrived and there was a further shot after the police arrived, which we believe was the offender taking his own life,” Detective Inspector Steven said.
The woman is in a serious but stable condition in the Launceston General Hospital and is undergoing surgery.
Detective Inspector Steven said he had viewed the body worn footage of the officers who entered the home and said it was “confronting”.
Both children were physically unharmed and are now in the care of family.
Both men and the woman are aged in their 30s and are from the North West Coast.
From the scene
Police set up lengthy cordons and blocked off roads about 500m from the home on Williams Street.
Forensic officers were seen entering the residence and police officers have been examining and taking photos of a silver dual cab at the front of property.
Neighbours on the normally busy street are slowly emerging from their home and looking on with confusion.
Volunteers from the SES are also assisting to direct traffic.
Leanne Jackson lives on Williams St and said she heard loud noises in the early hours of the morning.
“My dogs woke me up and I went to take them out,” he said.
“I didn’t hear gun shots or anything, but I heard a lot of people and voices, and thought there was a party going on up there.
“I took them (the dogs) out the back because I didn’t want them to bark if there was a party.
“A couple of times we’ve heard them having parties up that way and we normally don’t take any notice, we just sleep through.”
Another resident on the street heard the gun shots.
“I thought I heard a car backfire,” they said.
“I just can’t believe it ... it’s just pure devastation. I feel so sorry for them. There were kids in the house.
“Devonport is usually really good, it really is ... to hear that. Devonport’s not like this.”
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