Hostage drama recalled
Shot fired at Toowoomba library in 1983 incident
‘‘ WE WEREN’T SURE AT THAT POINT WHAT HE WANTED – WE WERE LIVING BY THE MINUTE. JANE HOBBS
IN AN entry to her diary on March 25, 1983, librarian Jane Hobbs wrote, “up in the children’s section of the library, I wondered if my end was coming”.
Hours earlier, Ms Hobbs had been one of 12 people held at gunpoint in the upper level of the Toowoomba library.
The assailant, a 22-year-old man, was armed with a 6.5mm Husqvarna rifle and 99 rounds of ammunition when he took the staff and library patrons hostage.
“I saw a man burst through the intermediary door - he was wearing jungle greens and I could see he was carrying a rifle,” Ms Hobbs said, remembering the day.
Ms Hobbs said she watched the man order people to leave the library.
“I tried to move people out of the fiction section,” she said.
“Everyone was hesitant, they all wanted to check their books out.”
At that point, the situation deteriorated. The offender became impatient, firing a bullet into the roof of the library.
After the gunshot rang out, Ms Hobbs said she “had never seen a group of people move so quickly”.
“He herded the rest of us up the steps to the mezzanine section, and there he demanded the staff to step forward.
“We weren’t sure what he wanted – we were living by the minute.”
Luckily, the group was saved by the quick thinking of Ms Hobbs’ fellow librarian, Diana Wright.
Ms Wright said she had recognised the man was a threat, putting a call in to police minutes after he entered the library.
She then comforted “distressed” staff members as the man paced the mezzanine, demanding a phone call with his psychiatrist.
The incident came to an abrupt end 15 minutes later. Police broke down the back door of the library, surprising the man who was on the phone.
After a brief altercation, the man was arrested. He appeared in Toowoomba Magistrate Court the following day, charged with attempted robbery and carrying a loaded weapon.
The Toowoomba library was closed for the remainder of the day. With gun violence often in the news, Ms Hobbs said she was glad the incident had a “happy ending”.