Gunman detained in Australia after firing shots in Canberra airport
- No one was injured when a gunman fired five shots in Canberra airport on Sunday, and normal operations resumed later the same day
- Police believe the man ‘acted alone’, motive behind shooting ‘not immediately clear’
A gunman fired around five shots inside Canberra’s main airport on Sunday, sending passengers fleeing but injuring no one before he was detained by Australian police.
Images posted on social media showed a police officer restraining a man on the ground inside the terminal as the emergency alarm sounded in the capital’s main airport.
Police said the man was taken into custody and was being held at a station in the city. A firearm was recovered, they added.
The gunman entered the airport’s departures area in the early afternoon and sat close to the terminal’s large glass windows, detective acting superintendent Dave Craft told reporters outside the building.
He added that the gunman waited five minutes before pulling out his firearm and “let off approximately five rounds”.
The airport was evacuated and locked down, leading to the suspension of flights
But normal operations resumed after the airport was reopened later in the day, though some flights had been cancelled.