An Australian man has been shot dead outside a western Sydney police station after he opened fire on officers, ending an hour-long rampage that saw two stations and the suburban home of his former partner, who says she is pregnant with his child, come under fire.
King next drove to St. Marys Police Station and fired into that building about 9:15 p.m., before continuing on to Penrith where he shot at police with a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun.
Prior to the shootings King had been involved in a domestic dispute with his former partner Stacey Taylor, who says she is 27 weeks or almost seven months pregnant with his baby.
A “scared” Taylor told Ten News she was in bed about 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday when she heard a massive bang, followed by another.
She looked out her window and saw King at the bottom of her driveway, shooting towards the house on Quakers Road.
“He wasn’t very happy about me being pregnant and that’s where all this fuss started from,” she told Ten News.
“When I found out I was pregnant I had threats for about three weeks.”
Taylor told Nine News King had claimed the baby wasn’t his, and wanted DNA testing and an abortion.
“If I didn’t, he would kill himself,” she said King had threatened.
Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy said officers in Penrith had “no choice” but to return fire.
Those involved in the shootout were shaken, but had also “reflected on their own families and themselves and how fortunate they were not to be killed.”
“For police to be confronted and to stand up in a confrontation under fire, has shown extreme courage,” he told 2GB.
A male constable suffered pellet wounds to the back of the head and was taken to Westmead Hospital with non life-threatening injuries, police said.
Several other officers suffered minor injuries that were not gunshot-related.
Deputy Commissioner Loy said it wasn’t yet clear if King was a licensed shooter, but his gun was the sort used by tactical police all around the world.
Witness footage posted online showed him falling to the ground after being shot multiple times.
The woman filming the footage from a nearby building can be heard screaming “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” as the shots ring out.
Mick Lumtin, who was hosting a trivia night at a nearby pub, said police asked the man to put down his weapon before “there was just a ray of shots going out.”
“I don’t know, maybe 14 or 15 shots, pretty loud,” he told the Seven Network.
Local resident Roy told Nine News he heard the sound of gunfire.
“I heard three loud bangs. It sounded like it was fire crackers,” he said.
“You wouldn’t think it would happen with a police station right next door.”
A critical incident investigation team from the homicide squad will investigate the incident, and the investigation will be independently reviewed.
Penrith Police Station and St Marys Police Station will be closed until further notice.
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