Family of 7 found dead in Australia
Victims found with gunshot wounds in worst mass shooting since ’96, police say
CANBERRA, Australia — A family of seven including four children was found dead with gunshot wounds Friday at a rural property in southwest Australia in what could be the country’s worst mass shooting in 22 years, police and news media said.
The children died with their mother and grandparents. The three generations had moved in 2015 to Osmington, a village of fewer than 700 people near the tourist town of Margaret River, to grow fruit, media reported.
Police would not comment on the possibility of murder-suicide, but said they are not looking for a suspect.
After being alerted by a phone call before dawn, police found the bodies and two guns at the property, Western Australia state Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said. Police wouldn’t say who made the call.
The bodies of two adults were found outside a house and the others were found inside. They all resided at the property, he said.
Police said they have no information that would raise concerns about wider public safety, suggesting a shooter is not at large.
“Police are currently responding to what I can only describe as a horrific incident,” Dawson told reporters.
“This devastating tragedy will no doubt have a lasting impact on the families concerned, the whole community and, in particular, the local communities in our southwest,” he added.
Police were attempting to make contact with the victims’ relatives, Dawson said. He declined to release the names or ages of the dead.
A family friend told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the seven victims were Peter and Cynda Miles, their daughter, Katrina, and Katrina’s four children.
“It’s just horrifying, just horrifying,” Felicity Haynes, a family friend, told 9 News Australia, explaining that she heard three gunshots — and then two more — about 4 a.m., but did not think much about it.
“They were good people. It’s not fair. It’s not fair,” she said.
Philip Alpers, a Sydney University gun policy analyst, said the tragedy appeared to be the worst mass shooting in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996, prompting the nation to introduce tough gun controls.
Australia’s gun laws are widely acclaimed as a success, with supporters including former President Barack Obama saying Australia has not had a single mass shooting since they were implemented.
The generally accepted definition of a mass shooting — four deaths excluding the shooter in a single event — has been met only once in Australia since then. In 2014, a farmer shot his wife and three children before killing himself.
Farmers are allowed to own guns under Australian law because they have a legitimate need to use them to kill predators or sick or injured livestock. But many rifles and shotguns are banned from public ownership.
Osmington is a collection of a few streets, farms, vacation accommodations and vineyards.
Samantha Lee, chairman of the Gun Control Australia lobby group, said rural areas were over-represented in Australian gun deaths, including suicides.
“Regional and rural areas are particularly vulnerable to these sorts of tragedies, because of the combination of isolation, sometimes mental or financial hardship and easy access to firearms,” Less said in a statement.
Haynes, the family friend, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the victims had moved into the home about three years ago. Neighbors reported that the children were home-schooled there.
Haynes told 9 News that over the years, Cynda Miles had become a beloved member of the small community.
“You can imagine this warm, motherly person who’s always smiling,” she said, “always generous and brings fresh baked scones to everything. That’s Cynda.”