Gunman at large in Australia after leaving 3 dead, 1 wounded
Melbourne (AP): A gunman was at large after a shooting in a town in Australia's New South Wales state on Thursday left three people dead and another wounded, police said.
Emergency services were called to two locations at Lake Cargelligo, a town of around 1,500 people, after 4 pm. Two couples, a man and woman, had been shot in each location within minutes, Police Assistant Commissioner Andy Holland said.
Both women and a man died. Another man was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition, he said.
Police knew the identity of a suspect, but did not know his relationship with the victims, who were all Lake Cargelligo locals, Holland said. The suspect's name has not been released.
The victims were the suspect's former partner, two of her relatives and her new partner, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported, citing unnamed police sources.
State police were working to locate the suspect and had sent resources from neighbouring districts to the town, including heavily armed tactical police, Holland said. The town had been cordoned off to prevent the suspect's escape.
Police used geo-targeted text messages to urge the public to avoid the area and for local residents to stay inside. The Commercial Hotel, a local pub, was closed by 6 pm.
“The offender is believed to have fled in a vehicle,” Holland told reporters. “The offender is mobile, hence … we're asking people in those areas to remain inside their premises for their own safety.”
Local state parliament lawmaker Roy Butler, described the shooting as “tragic news” for the town, which is a 600-kilometre (370-mile) drive west of Sydney.
“It's a terrible situation, and it's still live, so we don't have much information. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Butler said.
The shooting came on a National Day of Mourning as Australia remembers the 15 people shot dead in Sydney at a Hannukah celebration on December 14.
Authorities say the two alleged Sydney gunmen were inspired by the Islamic State group to carry out Australia's worst mass shooting since 1996.
The Australian Parliament on Tuesday passed new gun restrictions in response to the tragedy.
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Governor's move an insult to assembly, will protest his unconstitutional action: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has criticised Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot for not skipping the Cabinet-approved address and reading his version of the address at the first joint session of the year, alleging that the move violated constitutional provisions and amounted to an insult to the elected legislature.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot addressed the joint session of the state legislature on Thursday, but read only three lines of the government’s prepared speech before leaving the House. A day earlier, he had refused to address the session.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday on the Governor’s shortened address to both Houses of the legislature, he said, “As per the Constitution, it is the Governor’s duty to address the joint session held at the beginning of every year and when a new government is formed.”
He said that under Articles 176 and 163 of the Constitution, the Governor is required to read the address prepared by the Cabinet, a practice that has been followed since the Constitution came into force.
“By delivering a speech drafted by himself, the Governor had violated constitutional provisions and insulted the Assembly of elected representatives,” the Chief Minister alleged.
The Chief Minister highlighted that the Congress party and the state government would protest what he termed an unconstitutional act and that agitations had been planned across the state.
He alleged that the Governor had acted as the “puppet” of the Centre, accusing the Central government of using the Governor to deliver a different address to cover up its own failures, and said the Governor had not fulfilled his constitutional duty.
He further alleged that the Centre had repealed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and introduced a new scheme called ‘VB-G RAM G’, a move strongly opposed by the state government. He said the first step taken by the Centre was to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the Act.
Recalling the Congress-led UPA government’s initiatives, Siddaramaiah said that during Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister in 2005, landmark legislations such as the Right to Food, Right to Information, Right to Education and Right to Employment were implemented in line with constitutional principles.
He added that the employment guarantee programme, aimed at providing at least 100 days of work to the rural poor, continues to benefit Dalits, labourers, women and small farmers.
He claimed that under the Centre’s new Act, job security for beneficiaries had been weakened, particularly affecting women and Dalits, who together formed a large share of those employed under the earlier scheme. He said the previous law allowed small farmers to take up work on their own land and ensured employment throughout the year, which was the government’s responsibility.
Siddaramaiah alleged that under the new arrangement, poor workers would be required to work at locations decided by the Central government. He also pointed out that earlier, Gram Sabha’s and Panchayats had the authority to prepare employment action plans, but this decentralised decision-making process had been removed under the new Act.
