Quick-thinking office workers have been praised for restraining an elderly gunman who shot another septuagenarian in the groin in a Sydney city-centre office.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
The victim, 77, was wounded in an office block about 12.50pm on Castlereagh Street, a stone's throw from a major Sydney court complex and home to several law firms.
Police were on the scene in three minutes, finding five to six workers holding the alleged 79-year-old gunman on the ground, Detective Inspector David El-Badawi said.
"The people inside the office were very brave," he told reporters.
"They restrained the offender until police arrived."
The relationship between the two men was yet to be deduced but police had ruled out any links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, Det Insp El-Badawi said.
He declined to reveal whether the scene, on the ninth floor of the office block, was a legal firm.
A small-calibre semi-automatic pistol was found at the scene.
The one bullet fired from the weapon entered the man's groin, but the victim was in a stable condition when paramedics arrived.
"It wasn't a graze, but when we got on scene, it was not actively bleeding," NSW Ambulance inspector Dominic Wong said.
"I do believe there was first aid rendered by the people in the premises and that obviously assisted with his treatment."
The 77-year-old was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a stable condition.
The accused gunman did not appear injured and declined a medical assessment.
He was taken to Day Street police station
Police said there was no further ongoing threat to the community.
Australian Associated Press
