There was blood in the ground at the back of his head. I knew they were gunshot (wounds).
- Witness, Karen
A bullet hole in the windscreen of a NSW Police car has shown how close the Force came to a tragedy of its own on Wednesday, after a prison inmate on medical transfer in Wollongong disarmed a corrective services officer and started firing.
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The inmate is believed to have shot himself dead in the final stage of the tragic debacle, which is now the subject of intense public and internal scrutiny.
The 37-year-old man was an inmate at South Coast Correctional Centre at South Nowra.
The Mercury understands he was being led to a medical appointment inside the Piccadilly Centre on the corner of Gladstone Avenue and Crown Street about midday Wednesday when he pushed past two correctives officers - one male, one female - and disarmed one of them.
Multiple bystanders saw the man then brandishing the gun on Gladstone Avenue.
The Mercury understands he fired shots into two vehicles, including a passing police car, before turning the weapon on himself. Paramedics came to his aid but he died in an alleyway running down the back of the complex.
A spokeswoman for Corrective Services NSW said the circumstances surrounding the man's death were being investigated.
"The 37-year-old man suffered serious self-inflicted injuries during an escort to a medical facility at approximately midday today and died a short time later," she said. "All deaths in custody are subject to a coronial inquest."
The incident sparked a major police operation that shut down part of Gladstone Street until after nightfall.
Forensic officers examined a curtainsider truck that had a man at the wheel when it was hit by one stray bullet. Officers inserted a rod through another bullet hole in the windscreen of a police car, showing how close the driver came to tragedy.
A spokeswoman for NSW Police said: "During the incident a police dog unit vehicle was driving past and was allegedly hit with a bullet. The officer and the dog were not injured".
The centre contains the rooms of several specialist medical services. Patients who had parked in the centre while attending their appointments found themselves separated from their cars after the carpark was declared a crime scene.
Dapto's Linda Parker was among those who took cover after she arrived for a specialist's appointment and was told there was a gunman on the loose.
"I let them (reception staff) know I was here, then two ladies came in after me and said, 'there's a man out there with a gun, we need to close the doors'. And then we heard two shots fired. Just two," she sadi.
Wollongong man Jason Regal said he saw the inmate running across Gladstone Avenue soon before the shots sounded.
"He was wearing green - jail green," he said. "I heard noises, maybe yelling or something.
"I saw the gun and I just walked away. I wasn't going near it."
He said he heard two bangs, which he later realised were gunshots.
A Sydney resident, Karen, heard the shots and saw the man lying injured and almost motionless in the alleyway.
"I heard two (shots) and then I heard another three and then I saw the guy on the ground. He had dark hair and he was wearing a green shirt," she said.
"There was blood in the ground at the back of his head. I knew they were gunshot (wounds)."
From her nearby apartment, Sophie Hooper noticed a passer-by warning people away from an area outside the the centre.
Footage captured by Miss Hooper shows the inmate taking cover in an alleyway behind the centre, before raising the gun at an unknown target.
"A guy ran up and kind of alerted everyone on the street - he was like, 'move out of the way'," Miss Hooper told the Mercury.
"Then he (the inmate) walked out - the man in the green sweater - with what looked like the gun.
"I saw him shoot at the police. He came out of that little alleyway that I believe he's in now (deceased).
"He went back in the alleyway and a few minutes passed before all the police started going inside there."
The Mercury understands police did not return fire during the incident.
The deceased inmate was found with a gunshot wound to his neck.
A female CSO was taken from the scene by ambulance to Wollongong Hospital, in a stable condition.
If this article raises issues for you, or someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
