1993 Jolimont Centre siege

In November 1993 an event known as the "Jolimont Centre siege" took place resulting in the serious wounding on one person and the death of another over the course of two hours. The centre was set on fire and extensive damage was caused by a lone gunman.[1]

Jolimont Centre siege
LocationJolimont Centre, Canberra, Australia
Date29 November 1993
7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Attack type
Hostage-taking, shooting, bombing
Weapons12 gauge shotgun
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured1
PerpetratorFelipe Ruizdiaz

The Jolimont Centre, located in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory was the home of the Department of Industrial Relations and radio station 2CA.

Events

About 7:30 a.m., on 29 November 1993, 47-year-old Felipe Ruizdiaz shot and wounded local pool manager, Geoff McGibbon, at the Dickson Swimming Pool in Canberra before crashing his utility vehicle rigged with petrol and gas canisters through the front glass walls of the six storey Jolimont Centre, home of the Department of Industrial Relations in Canberra in an apparent revenge attack on his estranged wife. Ruizdiaz threw several petrol bombs and shot at the responding fire brigade and police officers.[1][2]

During the resulting two-hour siege, Ruizdiaz shot at police and rescue workers using his 12-gauge shotgun before setting fire to the building and killing himself.[3] The fire and explosions hampered rescue and police efforts and caused several million dollars worth of damage to the centre,[1] impacting on the building's owner—AMP Limited—and its tenants.[4]

Two local radios stations and numerous employees were inside the centre at the time requiring tactical police to assists in their evacuation. After several explosions, which resulted in the street being showered with broken glass, Australian Federal Police Special Operations Team wearing breathing apparatus entered the centre, eventually locating the deceased gunman with shotgun wounds to his stomach and his body badly burned.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Event - Canberra, ACT: Office Block Fire following Explosion". Australian Government - Attorney-General's Department. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  2. "Siege Man Sent Note, Flowers". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 December 1993. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014.
  3. Exhibition 1993
  4. Clack, Peter (8 December 1993). "Jolimont IR workers take 'early holidays'". The Canberra Times. p. 3.
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