Monash University shooting
Encyclopedia
The Monash University shooting refers to a shooting in which a student shot his classmates and teacher, killing two and injuring five. It took place at Monash University
in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
on 21 October 2002. The gunman, Huan Yun Xiang, was acquitted of crimes related to the shootings due to mental impairment, and is currently under psychiatric care. Several of the people present in the room of the shootings have been commended for their bravery in tackling Xiang and ending the shooting.
student at the university, armed with five loaded handguns, opened fire in room E 659 of the Menzies Building on Monash's Clayton campus
in an econometrics
class containing twelve students.
People in the classroom were initially confused by the noise and by Xiang screaming "You never understand me!" from the desk he was standing on.
Xiang killed two students in the room:
Xiang wounded five others:
When Xiang stopped shooting and moved to switch weapons, Lee Gordon-Brown, the injured lecturer, grabbed Xiang's hands as he reached into his jacket. Gordon-Brown and a student in the room, Alastair Boast, a trained wing chun
practitioner, tackled him.
Bradley Thompson later entered the room and discovered other guns in a holster around Xiang's waist, and removed two magazines from near his left hip, and a revolver from the base of his back.
After Gordon-Brown collapsed, Boast and Thompson were helped by a lecturer from a nearby room, Brett Inder, to restrain Xiang for fifteen minutes until police
arrived, while student Andrew Swann, and university administrator Colin Thornby, provided first aid.
At least one injured student reportedly left the room and sought help for his injuries from security staff.
Xiang was deemed by police to be unfit for interview but wrote a note referring to William Wu after his arrest saying "I finally ended WW's life."
All classes in the Menzies Building were cancelled for the rest of the day and the university set up counselling stations.
ded not guilty before his trial to two counts of murder
and five of attempted murder
on account of mental impairment.
During his two day trial in June 2004, prosecutor Sue Pullen presented evidence that Xiang felt the killings were his destiny. Evidence showed that Xiang had joined the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia
in April 2002, and gained a handgun licence in June 2002. One lecturer, Gael Martin, told the court that she had expressed concerns about his mental state a week prior to the shootings. Evidence was offered that he harboured delusional beliefs that William Wu was an agent of evil and would destroy him academically, and that his actions on 21 October 2002 focused on fulfilling a perceived destiny to kill Wu.
The defense and prosecution in Xiang's trial agreed that he suffered from a paranoid
delusion
al disorder. The prosecution asked the jury to find him not guilty. On 17 June 2004 the Victorian Supreme Court jury
found him not guilty
of the murder of Wu and Chan and of the attempted murder of five other people in the tutorial room due to mental impairment. Justice Bernard Teague ordered Xiang be transferred to the Thomas Embling psychiatric hospital. He may be held there for as long as 25 years.
artist wrote "Life is short. Cherish your friends. Love one another. R.I.P." on a campus billboard. On the first anniversary of the shootings, 21 October 2003, a day of reflection was held on Clayton campus.
William Wu and Steven Chan were posthumously awarded honours degrees
by Monash University.
There was also editorial coverage arguing both for and against additional legal restrictions on handguns being introduced in Australia.
Shooting massacres in Australia and other English-speaking countries often occurred close together in time. Forensic psychiatrists attribute this to copycat behaviour, which is in many cases triggered by sensational media treatment. Mass murderers study media reports and imitate the actions and equipment that are sensationalised in them. The Monash shooting occurred at the height of publicity for the Beltway sniper attacks
, which was extremely prominent from 3 October to the arrest of the perpetrators on 24 October 2002, three days after the Monash shootings.
, initiated another review of Australian gun laws after it was discovered that Xiang had acquired his firearms legally.
The Victorian State Government prepared new laws doubling the punishment for misuse of handguns and introducing new laws against trafficking in handguns after the shooting, and all other states followed.
The National Handgun Buyback Act 2003 put new restrictions on maximum calibre, magazine capacity and minimum barrel
lengths for all handguns. Most owners either modified their handguns to comply or replaced them with compliant new handguns. Competitive target shooters were paid compensation for their pistols if they agreed to give up the sport for five years.
Victoria began its handgun buyback scheme in August 2003.
The Royal Humane Society
awarded Gordon-Brown the 2005 Stanhope Gold Medal, the highest Commonwealth
award for bravery. In addition The Royal Humane Society of Australia (RHSA) awarded him the 2004 Clarke Gold Medal of the RHSA and he was awarded the Star of Courage
, the second highest award for bravery in the Australian honours system. The RHSA awarded Alastair Boast the Gold Medal of the RHSA.
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 21 October 2002. The gunman, Huan Yun Xiang, was acquitted of crimes related to the shootings due to mental impairment, and is currently under psychiatric care. Several of the people present in the room of the shootings have been commended for their bravery in tackling Xiang and ending the shooting.
Events of 21 October
At 11:24am on 21 October,, Huan Yun "Allen" Xiang a commerceCommerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
student at the university, armed with five loaded handguns, opened fire in room E 659 of the Menzies Building on Monash's Clayton campus
Monash University, Clayton campus
Monash University, Clayton Campus is the main campus of Monash University located in Clayton, which is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria....
in an econometrics
Econometrics
Econometrics has been defined as "the application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data" and described as the branch of economics "that aims to give empirical content to economic relations." More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on...
class containing twelve students.
People in the classroom were initially confused by the noise and by Xiang screaming "You never understand me!" from the desk he was standing on.
Xiang killed two students in the room:
- Xu Hui "William" Wu, an international student from Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and neighbour of Xiang's in Melbourne; and - Steven Chan, a student from DoncasterDoncaster, VictoriaDoncaster is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham. At the 2006 Census, Doncaster had a population of 17,879....
.
Xiang wounded five others:
- lecturerLecturerLecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
Lee Gordon-Brown, who was shot in the arm and knee; - student Daniel Urbach, who was wounded in the shoulder and arm;
- student Laurie Brown, who was wounded in the leg and abdomen;
- student Christine Young, who was shot in the face; and
- student Leigh Dat Huynh, who was discharged from hospital within a day.
When Xiang stopped shooting and moved to switch weapons, Lee Gordon-Brown, the injured lecturer, grabbed Xiang's hands as he reached into his jacket. Gordon-Brown and a student in the room, Alastair Boast, a trained wing chun
Wing Chun
Wing Chun , also romanised as Ving Tsun or Wing Tsun, ; ; is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense utilizing both striking and grappling while specializing in close-range combat.The alternative characters 永春 "eternal spring" are also...
practitioner, tackled him.
Bradley Thompson later entered the room and discovered other guns in a holster around Xiang's waist, and removed two magazines from near his left hip, and a revolver from the base of his back.
After Gordon-Brown collapsed, Boast and Thompson were helped by a lecturer from a nearby room, Brett Inder, to restrain Xiang for fifteen minutes until police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
arrived, while student Andrew Swann, and university administrator Colin Thornby, provided first aid.
At least one injured student reportedly left the room and sought help for his injuries from security staff.
Xiang was deemed by police to be unfit for interview but wrote a note referring to William Wu after his arrest saying "I finally ended WW's life."
All classes in the Menzies Building were cancelled for the rest of the day and the university set up counselling stations.
Trial
Xiang pleaPlea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
ded not guilty before his trial to two counts of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and five of attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
on account of mental impairment.
During his two day trial in June 2004, prosecutor Sue Pullen presented evidence that Xiang felt the killings were his destiny. Evidence showed that Xiang had joined the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia
The Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia was established in 1948 to promote shooting sports and protect firearm owners' interests. The SSAA currently has over 120,000 members, making it the largest body representing licensed firearm owners in Australia, and covers all aspects of shooting...
in April 2002, and gained a handgun licence in June 2002. One lecturer, Gael Martin, told the court that she had expressed concerns about his mental state a week prior to the shootings. Evidence was offered that he harboured delusional beliefs that William Wu was an agent of evil and would destroy him academically, and that his actions on 21 October 2002 focused on fulfilling a perceived destiny to kill Wu.
The defense and prosecution in Xiang's trial agreed that he suffered from a paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
delusion
Delusion
A delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological...
al disorder. The prosecution asked the jury to find him not guilty. On 17 June 2004 the Victorian Supreme Court jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
found him not guilty
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
of the murder of Wu and Chan and of the attempted murder of five other people in the tutorial room due to mental impairment. Justice Bernard Teague ordered Xiang be transferred to the Thomas Embling psychiatric hospital. He may be held there for as long as 25 years.
Memorials
On 22 October 2002, the day after the shooting, flags on Clayton campus flew at half mast, and a graffitiGraffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist wrote "Life is short. Cherish your friends. Love one another. R.I.P." on a campus billboard. On the first anniversary of the shootings, 21 October 2003, a day of reflection was held on Clayton campus.
William Wu and Steven Chan were posthumously awarded honours degrees
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
by Monash University.
Media
Early media coverage focussed on Xiang's limited English skills and resulting difficulties communicating as possible contributing factors to his decisions.There was also editorial coverage arguing both for and against additional legal restrictions on handguns being introduced in Australia.
Shooting massacres in Australia and other English-speaking countries often occurred close together in time. Forensic psychiatrists attribute this to copycat behaviour, which is in many cases triggered by sensational media treatment. Mass murderers study media reports and imitate the actions and equipment that are sensationalised in them. The Monash shooting occurred at the height of publicity for the Beltway sniper attacks
Beltway sniper attacks
The Washington sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
, which was extremely prominent from 3 October to the arrest of the perpetrators on 24 October 2002, three days after the Monash shootings.
Gun ownership laws
The then Prime Minister of Australia, John HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, initiated another review of Australian gun laws after it was discovered that Xiang had acquired his firearms legally.
The Victorian State Government prepared new laws doubling the punishment for misuse of handguns and introducing new laws against trafficking in handguns after the shooting, and all other states followed.
The National Handgun Buyback Act 2003 put new restrictions on maximum calibre, magazine capacity and minimum barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
lengths for all handguns. Most owners either modified their handguns to comply or replaced them with compliant new handguns. Competitive target shooters were paid compensation for their pistols if they agreed to give up the sport for five years.
Victoria began its handgun buyback scheme in August 2003.
Bravery awards
Lee Gordon-Brown, Alastair Boast, Brett Inder, Bradley Thompson, Andrew Swann and Colin Thornby all received bravery awards for their part in restraining Xiang and helping injured victims.The Royal Humane Society
Royal Humane Society
The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned, for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning....
awarded Gordon-Brown the 2005 Stanhope Gold Medal, the highest Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
award for bravery. In addition The Royal Humane Society of Australia (RHSA) awarded him the 2004 Clarke Gold Medal of the RHSA and he was awarded the Star of Courage
Star of Courage (Australia)
The Star of Courage is a bravery decoration awarded to Australians. It is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril. The SC was created on 14 February 1975. The decoration recognises acts of bravery by members of the community. They selflessly put themselves in...
, the second highest award for bravery in the Australian honours system. The RHSA awarded Alastair Boast the Gold Medal of the RHSA.