The inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker, who was shot by a Northern Territory police officer in 2019, will no longer begin in his home community of Yuendumu.
Key points:
Family have requested the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker no longer begin in his community
He died after being fatally shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe in 2019, who was found not guilty of all charges
The NT Coroner will examine his death for three months from September 5
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
Kumanjayi Walker died after he was shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu in November 2019.
Constable Rolfe was found not guilty of murder after a five-week Supreme Court trial earlier this year.
Northern Territory Coroner, Libby Armitage, will preside over a three-month inquest into his death, which had earlier been flagged to start in the remote community, about 300 kilometers from Alice Springs.
Family and supporters of Kumanjayi Walker requested the inquest no longer begin in Yuendumu. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
‘Change in circumstances’ in Yuendumu
Legal representatives of Mr Walker’s family and community today told the Coroner it would no longer be “appropriate” for the inquest to start in Yuendumu.
Representatives for the Lane, Walker and Robertson families, who cared for Mr Walker, said a “change in circumstances” in Yuendumu meant their feelings towards the inquest being held in community had changed.
A man will face court today after he was charged with murder over the death of a 25-year-old man in Toowoomba earlier this year.
Key points:
Police have charged a man over the shooting death of Thor Morgan
A firearm was located in the Condamine River late last month
A 24-year-old man will face court today in Brisbane
Police allege Thor Morgan was driving a car on Ruthven Street in Harlaxton when a firearm was discharged from a stolen dual cab and he was shot in the head about 2.50am on March 15.
Mr Morgan succumbed to his injuries at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital two months later on May 16.
Police say divers recovered a firearm from a northern branch of the Condamine River on July 26 which police will allege was the weapon used in the incident.
Police say they found a firearm in the Condamine River in July.(Supplied: Queensland Police Service)
A 24-year-old man has been charged with murder, arson of a motor vehicle, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of weapons.
Police said they had been searching for the weapon for four months.
Police allege a weapon recovered from the river was used to shoot Mr Morgan.(Supplied: Queensland Police Service)
They allege a number of stolen cars were involved in the incident — a gray station wagon, which had been stolen from a Newtown home in February, and a white SUV stolen from a Mount Lofty address in March.
The cars were later found burnt out — one in Felton and another one in the Oakey area.
Investigations are ongoing.
Police blocked off a Harlaxton street after the shooting in March.(ABC Southern Queensland: David Chen)
A 63-year-old man has been charged with firearm offenses and will undergo a mental health assessment after allegedly firing multiple rounds inside Canberra Airport yesterday.
Key points:
Ali Rachid Ammoun is facing three charges, including firing and possessing a firearm, as well as intentionally discharging the gun, causing alarm
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours on Sunday afternoon as police swept the terminal
Mr Ammoun has been remanded in custody, to undergo a mental health assessment
About 1:30pm on Sunday, shots were fired inside the airport, and a man was arrested.
No one was injured.
Police allege Ali Rachid Ammoun arrived at the airport about 1:20pm and sat on some seats near the check-in desks on the first floor.
About 1:25pm, they said he drew a firearm and fired a number of shots into the windows of the building.
Australian Federal Police officers who were stationed within the airport terminal apprehended Mr Ammoun.
Bullets damaged the glass windows of Canberra Airport after Mr Ammoun allegedly opened fire.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours as ACT Policing and AFP Airport Police worked in partnership to secure the area and confirmed Mr Ammoun was acting alone.
Canberra Airport returned to normal operations about 5:00pm, with flights resuming shortly afterwards.
Alleged shooter to be sent for mental health assessment
Mr Ammoun appeared by video link in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning.
He is facing three charges, including firing and possessing a Smith and Wesson revolver, and intentionally discharging the gun causing another person to fear for their safety.
In court, his only request was that the ABC be excluded.
Magistrate Robert Cook refused the application, saying it was an open court.
Mr Ammoun did not apply for bail, and has been remanded in custody to undergo a mental health assessment at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
The case will return to court on September 5.
At least three bullet holes are visible in the glass windows of Canberra Airport.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
ABC reporter Lily Thomson, who was at the airport at the time, said she heard loud bangs and then saw people running towards her.
“I just assumed people were running for their flight,” she said.
But she said she realized something was wrong when people started screaming “run.”
She said she was left feeling “shaken” afterwards.
“It’s just the feeling of not knowing, that’s quite terrifying,” she said.
“As soon as we got out, people were on their phones to loved ones, hugging each other, that kind of thing.”
Airport CEO praises police response
Passengers waited on grounded planes while the airport was locked down during the police response to the shooting.(ABC News: Mark Alexander)
Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said despite the “terrifying” nature of the incident, authorities had responded well.
“We had our team both on-site and others coming into play straight away,” he said.
“The AFP has trained for these sorts of situations, where you have an armed intruder in an airport environment, and they have teams that are in place and they respond and indeed engaged immediately.
“In this case the offender was calm and submitted to their arrest.”
He said police had worked “incredibly efficiently and effectively” to sweep the airport and ensure no one else was involved.
“In fact, it was a pretty quick process, taking about three and a quarter hours for the terminal to be fully reopened,” he said.
More security at airports not needed: expert
John Coyne, the head of the Border Security Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the shooting was extremely rare by Australian standards, and there was not much more airports could do to respond to such an incident.
He said extra security at the front entrance, a measure suggested by some, could actually create even more of a risk.
“That could be a good idea, but then all of a sudden you’ve got large crowds of people lining up in the close vicinity of cars on the sidewalk waiting to go in, so that’s an even bigger target where even more casualties could occur ,” Mr Coyne said.
“I’ve always asked, can you make an airport really secure? And I always say, yes you can — what you can do is you can make sure that no plans fly, no one works at the airport and that there’s no travellers, because everything after that is a compromise.”
A 63-year-old man from New South Wales has been charged with firearm offenses after allegedly firing multiple rounds inside Canberra Airport yesterday.
Key points:
The man is facing charges of discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person, causing alarm
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours on Sunday afternoon as police swept the terminal
The man is set to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning
About 1:30pm on Sunday, shots were fired inside the airport, and a man was arrested.
No one was injured.
Police allege that the man arrived at the airport about 1:20pm and sat on some seats near the check-in desks on the first floor.
About 1:25pm, they said he drew a firearm and deployed a number of shots into the windows of the building.
Australian Federal Police officers who were stationed within the airport terminal apprehended the man.
Bullets damaged the glass windows of Canberra Airport after the man allegedly opened fire.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
The airport was evacuated and plans were grounded for about three hours as ACT Policing and AFP Airport Police worked in partnership to secure the area and confirmed the man was acting alone.
Canberra Airport returned to normal operations about 5:00pm, with flights resuming shortly afterwards.
At least three bullet holes are visible in the glass windows of Canberra Airport.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
The man is set to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning where police said they would oppose bail.
The man is facing charges of discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person causing alarm.
JEANNE, CREWS HAVE BEEN SEARCHING UP AND DOWN 93 ALL MORNING. TRAFFIC HAS NOT BEEN IMPACTED BY THE SEARCH AND CREWS ARE MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY. AND BEHIND US, YOU CAN SEE THERE ARE SOME STATE POLICE AND FISH AND GAME K-9 UNITS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW. ALL OF THIS, OF COURSE, IN CONNECTION WITH LAST WEEK’S TRIPLE HOMICIDE IN NORTHFIELD. CREWS ARE FOCUSING ON THE AREA BETWEEN EXITS 17 AND 20 IN CONCORD, CANTERBURY, IN TILTON. IT WAS ONE WEEK AGO TODAY THAT THE BODIES OF 25 YEAR OLD CASSANDRA, FOUR YEAR OLD BENJAMIN AND ONE YEAR OLD MASON SWEENEY WERE FOUND INSIDE THEIR HOME ON THE DRIVE. ALL THREE HAD BEEN SHOT. CREWS HAVE BEEN SEARCHING SEVERAL AREAS SINCE LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE. LAST WEEKEND THEY WERE SEARCHING NEAR THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THE BODIES WERE FOUND. AND NEWS 9 HAS LEARNED THAT A STATE POLICE HELICOPTER HAS ALSO BEEN INVOLVED. BUT INVESTIGATORS HAVE NOT COMMENTED ON WHAT, IF ANYTHING, HAS BEEN RECOVERED. AND AS OF TODAY, THERE STILL HAVEN’T BEEN ANY ARRESTS IN THIS CASE. HOPEFULLY, TODAY’S SEARCH WILL BRING US SOME ANSWERS. FOR NOW, WE’
Investigators conducting new search for physical evidence in Northfield triple-homicide case
Mother, two young sons killed in home
Updated: 12:54 PM EDT Aug 10, 2022
A new search is being conducted Wednesday in connection with the killings of a mother and her two young children in Northfield. The search in the area of Interstate 93 between Exits 17 and 20 in Concord, Canterbury and Tilton is for physical evidence in connection with the investigation into the shooting deaths of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1. Their bodies were discovered one week ago at their home on Wethersfield Drive in Northfield. Investigators said each died of a single gunshot wound.>> GoFundMe launched for funeral expenses Officials with the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said the search is not the result of new information in the case. Drivers are asked to follow all road signage in the area and give investigators the “appropriate space to complete their work.” A WMUR crew at the scene noticed that traffic was not being impacted by the search. New Hampshire State Police and New Hampshire Fish and Game K-9 units assisted in the search Wednesday. Another search was conducted over the weekend in the neighborhood near where the bodies were found. WMUR has also learned a state police helicopter has been involved in the ongoing evidence search. Investigators have not commented on what, if anything, has been recovered. In the wake of the killings, officials said there was no danger to the public, but they have not made an arrest in the case. They have only said that all parties involved have been accounted for. Previous coverage of this case: Father, husband of Northfield shooting victims speaks out on social media Authorities searching for evidence in connection to Northfield triple homicide investigation Officials say they believe they know everyone involved in Northfield homicides Crisis help offered to first responders called to scene of Northfield deaths Woman, 2 sons found shot, killed in Northfield home, attorney general says
CONCORD, NH—
A new search is being conducted Wednesday in connection with the killings of a mother and her two young children in Northfield.
The search in the area of Interstate 93 between Exits 17 and 20 in Concord, Canterbury and Tilton is for physical evidence in connection with the investigation into the shooting deaths of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweney, 1.
Their bodies were discovered one week ago at their home on Wethersfield Drive in Northfield. Investigators said each died of a single gunshot wound.
>> GoFundMe launched for funeral expenses
Officials with the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said the search is not the result of new information in the case.
Drivers are asked to follow all road signage in the area and give investigators the “appropriate space to complete their work.” A WMUR crew at the scene noticed that traffic was not being impacted by the search.
New Hampshire State Police and New Hampshire Fish and Game K-9 units assisted in the search Wednesday.
Another search was conducted over the weekend in the neighborhood near where the bodies were found. WMUR has also learned a state police helicopter has been involved in the ongoing evidence search.
Investigators have not commented on what, if anything, has been recovered.
In the wake of the killings, officials said there was no danger to the public, but they have not made an arrest in the case. They have only said that all parties involved have been accounted for.
EDGEWATER, Fla. – Three people died on Monday after a hostage situation turned into a double homicide-suicide at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Edgewater, police said.
Edgewater police said an armed suspect, identified as 49-year-old Quinton Francis Hunter, took a woman hostage in the 500 block of North Ridgewood Avenue near New Smyrna Beach.
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Police said they were informed at approximately 7 pm that a man had been shot at Bridge the Gap — a nonprofit organization — and a woman was being held hostage. Authorities identified the two as Ian Greenfield, 59, and Erica Hoffman, 33.
“It appears from the timeline we have that he had already shot Mr. Greenfield and he’d already fired several other shots before he went live. But he made no comment. He wouldn’t communicate with us. It was just heavy breathing,” police said at a news briefing Tuesday morning.
A hostage situation Monday at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Edgewater ended with three people dead, police said.
Others at the meeting ran away and were not injured, according to police. Police said about 20 people escaped the meeting as the hostage situation continued. During the update, Edgewater police said the shooting is believed to be domestic in nature.
Police said the suspect was the ex-boyfriend of Hoffman and they believed she had “formed a new relationship” with Greenfield.
“Mr. Greenfield and Miss Hoffman create some kind of relationship — they didn’t put a label on it right now — but there was a new friendship and we’re working on the details to see if that was the entire motive of Mr. Hunter.. .jealousy. But I don’t know that yet. There’s still a lot of investigating we have to do,” Edgewater police said at a news conference.
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Police attempted to negotiate with the hostage-taker but were unsuccessful. A SWAT team later entered the building and found three people dead, including the suspect, police said.
According to investigators, Greenfield and Hoffman were found with apparent gunshot wounds and lacerations. Hunter appeared to have shot and killed himself, investigators said.
An armed suspect took a woman hostage in Edgewater Monday evening, leading to road closures and three deaths, according to the Edgewater Police Department.
An investigation is ongoing.
North Ridgewood Avenue was closed in both directions for hours during the standoff.
According to the Narcotics Anonymous website, “NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem.”
The organization issued the following statement after the shooting Monday night:
This is the back side of the building where a deadly standoff took place late last night in Edgewater.
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy, woman and suspect are dead after a shooting Sunday.
The incident started around 5:30 pm when a shooting was reported near Ponderosa Drive and Grand Boulevard. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office issued a shelter-in-place for the neighborhood in Security-Widefield.
Two deputies with EPSO and one officer from the Fountain Police Department responded to the area. When they arrived, they said they encountered gunfire from John Paz, 33.
Deputy Andrew Peery, 39, was shot while the other deputy and an FPD officer returned gunfire until additional officers and deputies arrived on scene. They immediately tried to save Peery’s life, EPSO said.
Around 8 pm, EPSO said that Peery had been killed in the line of duty.
EPSO said a woman was found dead in the front yard of a home in the area.
Detectives from the Colorado Springs Police Department arrived at the home and obtained a search warrant.
Once they were inside the home, they found the suspect, Paz, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The coroner’s office will release the cause of death for the deputy, victim and suspect.
EPSO said they believe that Paz killed deputy Peery and the woman found in the front yard of the home, then took his own life.
CSPD will lead the investigation into the shooting.
MESSAGE. JAYME SHAWN SWEENEY TOOK TO FACEBOOK SAYING THAT HE’S THINKING EVERYONE FOR OUTREACH AND SUPPORT. HE SAYS HIS NAME IS BEING DRAGGED THROUGH THE MUD. HE ALSO SAYS HE’S UNABLE TO CONFIRM WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT NOW, THE FACEBOOK POST POST SAYS, QUOTE, WHILE THINGS WILL NEVER BE NORMAL AGAIN, MY BODY FINALLY SHUT DOWN AND LET ME GET SOME SLEEP LAST NIGHT. AND I WOKE UP FEELING AS NORMAL AS POSSIBLE. IT CONTINUES TO SAY MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE WAS THE MOST AMAZING CARING, SWEETEST, ALL AROUND GOOD PERSON THAT ANYONE COULD EVER MEET AND JUST HOW MUCH SHE LOVED OUR BOYS. IT IS OUR JOB TO KEEP THEIR MEMORIES ALIVE. LAW ENFORCEMENT SEARCHED AREAS UNTIL TEN IN NORTHFIELD SAURDAY, ASKING THE PUBLIC TO STAY AWAY. THEY SAY THE WAS FOR PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND WAS PART OF THE INVESTIGATION NOT. THE RESULT OF NEW INFORMATION. OFFICIALS SAY THERE’S NO DANGER TO THE PUBLIC, BUT THEY HAVE NOT MADE AN ARREST IN THIS CASE. THEY JUST SAY ALL PARTIES ARE
Father, husband of Northfield shooting victims speaks out on social media
Sean Sweeney says he can’t talk about case
Updated: 5:30 PM EDT Aug 8, 2022
A man whose wife and two sons were found dead last week has released a statement thanking people for their support and noting that he can’t say anything about the case. The bodies of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1, were discovered Wednesday at their home on Wethersfield Drive in Northfield. Investigators said each died of a single gunshot wound. Kassandra Sweeney’s husband, Sean Sweeney, posted on Facebook that he can’t yet talk about the case. “While things will never be ‘normal’ again, my body finally shut down and let me post get some sleep last night … and I woke up feeling as ‘normal’ as possible,” he.He mentioned that his name has been dragged through the mud, but much of the post was focused on his wife and sons.”My beautiful wife was the most amazing, caring, sweetest, all-around good person that anyone could ever meet … and just how much she loved our boys,” he wrote. “It is our job now to keep their memories alive.” Law enforcement officers on Saturday searched areas in Tilton and Northfield, asking the public to stay away. They said the search was for physical evidence and was part of the investigation, not the result of new information. Officials said there’s no danger to the public, but they have not made an arrest in the case. They have only said that all parties involved have been accounted for.
CONCORD, NH—
A man whose wife and two sons were found dead last week has released a statement thanking people for their support and noting that he can’t say anything about the case.
The bodies of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons, Benjamin Sweeney, 4, and Mason Sweeney, 1, were discovered Wednesday at their home on Wethersfield Drive in Northfield. Investigators said each died of a single gunshot wound.
Kassandra Sweeney’s husband, Sean Sweeney, posted on Facebook that he can’t yet talk about the case.
“While things will never be ‘normal’ again, my body finally shut down and let me post get some sleep last night … and I woke up feeling as ‘normal’ as possible,” he said.
He mentioned that his name has been dragged through the mud, but much of the post was focused on his wife and sons.
“My beautiful wife was the most amazing, caring, sweetest, all-around good person that anyone could ever meet … and just how much she loved our boys,” he wrote. “It is our job now to keep their memories alive.”
Law enforcement officers on Saturday searched areas in Tilton and Northfield, asking the public to stay away. They said the search was for physical evidence and was part of the investigation, not the result of new information.
Officials said there’s no danger to the public, but they have not made an arrest in the case. They have only said that all parties involved have been accounted for.
The gunman who allegedly murdered three members of the same family in a rural Queensland town last week was banned from owning a gun license by police more than a decade ago before he successfully overturned the decision.
Queensland Police refused to renew Darryl Valroy Young’s gun license in 2010 after it found he was “not a fit and proper person” to hold firearms.
It added an approval for a license to own four rifles and a shotgun “was not considered to be in the public interest”, The Courier Mail reported.
But the 59-year-old appealed to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal in the same year he needed the weapons to kill feral animals on his sprawling property in Bogie, south-west of Bowen, in northern Queensland’s Whitsundays region.
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Young argued he had not broken laws that would prevent the Queensland Police from renewing his firearms license – which was first acquired in 1998.
“I would like the Tribunal to over turn the rejection notice as I have not broken any laws to stop me having a gun license,” Young wrote.
“…There is no were (sic) in the laws of the gun laws that I have broken to stop me having a gun license… I need my gun license for my business.
“I hope the Court overturns the decision so I can have my license.”
He was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder on Friday following the shooting incident that rocked the town one day earlier.
Police will allege in court three family members – couple Mervyn, 71, and Maree Schwarz, 59, and their son Graham Tighe, 35 – were fatally shot on Thursday by Young at the boundary of their huge properties after the parties agreed to meet the night before.
The other son, Ross Tighe, was left in a critical condition after a shotgun wound to the abdomen. He was able to escape about 40 kilometers in a ute and raise the alarm.
Young appeared at Proserpine Magistrates Court via video link on Monday morning. His legal team did not apply for bail.
He will remain behind bars at a Queensland correctional facility until the case is mentioned again in just under three months on November 1.
Neighbors of the Schwarz’s traveled more than an hour from their town to the courthouse to support the alleged victims and their families.
The Schwarz’s had moved next door to the Young’s in the town with a population of about 200 people after purchasing the 29,000 hectare farm in May 2021.
Police will allege the couple and one of their sons were murdered at the front of the Shannonvale Rd property over an ongoing dispute about boundaries of the homes.
Anyone in the area with information who has knowledge, information of any issues in the area, or spoke with either family, should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
