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10 NT NEWS. Monday, January 27, 2014. www.ntnews.com.au PUB: NT NEWS DATE: 27-JAN-2014 PAGE: 10 COLOR: C M Y K NATION l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l ntnews.com.au Melee after man slain Riot officers battle crowd at crime scene SYDNEY: Police riot squad officers had to be called in after a group of young men clashed with officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in Sydney’s southwest. Police and ambulance paramedics responded to reports of a shooting at Equity Place in Canley Vale in the early hours of yester- day to find a man aged in his 20s on a footpath suffering gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of para- medics, the man died at the scene outside an apartment block in the suspected drive- by shooting. Police say the man was known to them and the shooting was not believed to be random. Riot squad officers were called before dawn after a group of young men who knew the victim clashed with police amid heated exchanges after being being barred from entering the crime scene. During the confrontation one man shouted, ‘‘I want to see my brother.’’ Members of the group scuffled with police who drew batons and were backed up by police dogs before the men were wrestled to the ground and restrained. A police spokeswoman said three of the men were arrested and moved on from the scene, but no charges had been laid. A distraught young woman was also at the scene. Police had cordoned off the street and later erected an awning as forensic officers examined the scene and local residents were questioned. Jennifer Nguyen, 33, who lives at the apartment block where the man died, said that she heard nothing. ‘‘I woke up about 4am when police knocked on my door,’’ Ms Nguyen said. ‘‘Oh my God, I was shocked.’’ Ms Nguyen said the street was normally very quiet. Meanwhile, police are in- vestigating an incident at Hinchinbrook, also in Syd- ney’s southwest, after a man driving a car escaped injury when the rear passenger win- dows sustained suspected gunshot damage. ‘‘A 32-year-old man, who had been driving the car at the time of the incident, was not injured,’’ police said. Police were called to the in- cident at South Liverpool Rd early yesterday and have seized a black Holden Barina for forensic examination. A police spokeswoman said it was too early to say if the two shootings were linked. Proud patriot Josh Knight celebrates Australia Day at Evandale Park on the Gold Coast yesterday Picture: JERAD WILLIAMS Red and blue and true roo occasion SYDNEY: Citizenship cer- emonies, multiculturalism, pineapple smashing and cockroach races. It must be Australia Day. Hundreds of thousands gathered around the country to celebrate Australia’s nat- ional holiday, a commemor- ation of the First Fleet’s ar- rival in Australia in 1788. But for 17,900 Australians the day meant something more than public celebrat- ions and back-yard barbe- cues with mates. It was their first as citizens. Prime Minister Tony Abbott welcomed those receiving their citizenship to team Australia. ‘‘To the almost 18,000 tak- ing the pledge around Austra- lia, I say welcome to the team,’’ he said. Queenslanders celebrated with pig racing in Padding- ton and cockroach racing at Brisbane’s Story Bridge Hotel. There was also an attempt to set a world record for the longest line of giant inflatable thongs on the Sunshine Coast. In east Brisbane, punters vied for $500 prize money at a popular pineapple- throwing competition. ‘‘I didn’t really have a strat- egy,’’ entrant Catherine McKinnel said. ‘‘I just had a few beers and thought it would be a good idea to smash a pineapple.’’ Tens of thousands of Sydneysiders and visitors packed the Harbour fore- shore for the celebration. Victorians waving Austral- ian flags celebrated cultural diversity with a parade in- volving more than 60 cultural and community groups along Melbourne’s main streets. Camera clue in fatal jump MELBOURNE: A missing camera attached to the hel- met of a NSW BASE-jumper who died in Victoria may hold vital clues to his death. Emergency services were called to an accident near the Omega tower, a 432m structure at Giffard, about 200km east of Melbourne, on Saturday afternoon. Police believe a helmet was removed from the body of the 23-year-old man be- fore emergency services ar- rived at the scene. Police taser threat man SYDNEY: A man has been tasered after allegedly threatening police with a metal fence post following a break-in at a Bega home in the southeast of NSW. Police said the man had also threatened the occu- pant with the picket. Officers were called to the property in the early hours of yesterday. ‘‘When police arrived, a man allegedly threatened them with a metal star picket,’’ a statement said. Brawler bites off fingertip BRISBANE: A man has had the tip of his finger bitten off in a violent assault in a carpark on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. A man began brawling with two men, aged 28 and 29, outside a fast food shop on Horton Pde in Maroochy- dore on Saturday night. He bit off the 29-year-old man’s finger and assaulted the other, injuring his face and hand, police say. The shop’s entrance was also damaged. Lives lost on Victorian roads MELBOURNE: Five men have died on Victorian roads in the space of 24 hours on the Australia Day weekend. A cyclist, motorcyclist, pedestrian, passenger and driver died in five separate crashes around the state. A 50-year-old cyclist died on Saturday morning after he was struck by a vehicle on the Mount Dandenong Tour- ist Rd in Kalorama. A 22-year-old died about three hours later after he lost control of his motorbike in Labertouche. A 28-year-old man died af- ter he fell from a ute in Tragowel just before mid- night. And a 30-year-old ped- estrian was killed when he was struck by a vehicle on the Princes Highway in Irr- ewarra just after midnight. A man was found dead around 7am yesterday by a motorist who came across a crashed ute in Piries. Road Policing Acting Superintendent Dave Griffin said: ‘‘Your heart breaks for these families.’’ Thousands of bikies join rally BRISBANE: More than 2000 bikies have rallied in park- land opposite Queensland’s Supreme Court to protest against the state’s crack- down on outlaw gangs. Under new laws, known bikies can be jailed for up to three years if they gather in a public place, or could be jailed in solitary confine- ment, wearing pink suits, for months before trial. Speakers at the protest in- cluded Tracy Carew, whose husband, Joshua Carew, and brothers Steven Smith and Scott Conley were arrested in December, following a meet- ing at the Yandina Hotel. Ms Carew said her hus- band spent weeks in solitary confinement, 23 hours a day, before being released, and Mr Smith was still locked up. ‘‘The mental damage is ir- reversible,’’ she said. ‘‘We will fight to have those laws changed so that every Queenslander has a right to associate with who- ever they want, wherever and whenever they want.’’
