Wednesday 3 September 2014

The Ashburton Work and Income shooting

I am not really one for crime stories but this is a really ugly situation that lays bare the results of government policies over 30 years that have impoverished and alienated large numbers of people.

Perhaps the timing was wrong and so it seems insensitive but it is true what long-time campaigner for the unemployed and ex-Green Party MP, Sue Bradford said”

'the Government's "brutal policies" led to today's attack on Ashburton Work and Income staff'.


6 years of a brutal government and a crime like this and further threats of violence of this sort become inevitable.




Having just heard news of further polls whereby neither Labour nor the Greens have made much progress I am more convinced than ever that despite their crimes this government is going to be returned to power by a gullible population.

They have turned the population against the Left which, although not correct, are still rational. Truth doesn't come into it.They've done their job.


We are indeed sleepwalking towards fascism.
---SMR

Increased threats to Work & Income offices
Extra security guards are being ordered in and the police are clamping down after a rash of threats against Work and Income since the Ashburton triple shooting


3 August, 2014

The offices have received at least 17 serious threats since the shooting and seven arrests have been made and police are warning they'll come down hard on silly outbursts at the offices, like they do against bomb jokes at airports.

Deputy police Commissioner Viv Rickard said they have had to deal with threats from throughout the country.

"Anybody in that sort of work environment would feel vulnerable so we've asked that these threats be clearly given to us so that we can act on them."

He said that a number of the threats made reference to the incident in Ashburton.
"Some of them we've dealt with them we've found out are stupid, there's been some silly and stupid comments made, inappropriate comments."

But he said that police take all threats seriously.

"At the same time there's been people saying they'd blow people away."


The Work and Income office in Rotorua was the latest to close as a result of a threat. A call was received at the office about 11.30am and the police were alerted.

Senior Sergeant Chris Money of the Northern Police Communications Centre said the police were investigating the source of the threat.

He said the office was closed this afternoon following the incident.

Ministry of Social Development (MSD) announced it would post 100 extra security guards at Work and Income offices nationwide, following the Ashburton shootings and ongoing threats.

MSD chief executive Brendan Boyle made the announcement a joint press conference with police in Wellington.

Ashburton


said as well as the extra 100 security guards, police would also have a presence at Christchurch offices.

The incidents at Work and Income offices have come since the Ashburton shooting on Monday, which claimed the lives of Peggy Noble and Leigh Cleveland. A third woman, Lindy Curtis, was seriously injured and remains in Christchurch Hospital.

Earlier today, all Canterbury Work and Income offices were closed after a threat was made against staff, this time at a branch in Christchurch.

A ministry spokesperson earlier could not say what time the threatening phone call was made but said it came through one of their contact centres.

A police officer guards the cordon in central Ashburton.Apolice officer guards the cordon in central Ashburton.  Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

All Work and Income offices had been due to be open today, excluding Ashburton due to the ongoing police investigation into the fatal shooting of two women and injuring of a third, on Monday, and Kaiapoi, which is closed for staffing reasons.

Today's threats follow the arrest of a 38-year-old man in Marlborough yesterday after he allegedly made a threatening phone call to Work and Income's Blenheim office.

On Monday, a 38-year-old man was arrested after police were called to the Hastings Work and Income office after reports a man armed with a knife was threatening an employee.

WATCH video from above Ashburton, showing the scene of the shootings




A Public Service Association spokesperson said the continuing threats against Work and Income staff were a disgrace and must end.

It said all workers should expect to be able to do their jobs without putting themselves at risk, and it urged the police to act swiftly.


Two shot dead at Work and Income office in Ashburton, New Zealand
Extra security guards are being ordered in and the police are clamping down after a rash of threats against Work and Income since the Ashburton triple shooting


1 August, 2014


POLICE dogs have tracked down and bitten a gunman during a massive manhunt in a small New Zealand village, after he shot dead two people and injured a thirdperson in a shooting rampage at an unemployment office.

Homeless man Russell Tully, known as John, 48, was found on a property near Lake Hood, The New Zealand Herald reports.

Tully was found by a police dog unit according to Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Gary Knowles, who said no shots were fired and no officers were injured upon his arrest.

Tully was tracked for some distance by dogs, and police are still trying to located his weapon.

We’re still searching for his weapon,” Knowles said.

He was arrested and taken into custody at Ashburton police station. No charges been laid yet.

Mr Knowles said Tully would be medically examined before being formally interviewed and charged.

Farmers were home when he was found by police.

Tully, who was wearing a black balaclava entered the Work and Income office (WINZ) in the South Island town of Ashburton just after 10am and started firing a gun.

He was seen leaving on a bicycle afterwards and is still on the loose.

New Zealand Ministry of Social Development chief executive Brendan Boyle this afternoon confirmed the victims were staff members. A third staff member is in a critical condition in Christchurch hospital.

The New Zealand Defence Force also assisted in the hunt.
The NZDF is providing helicopter transport support to NZ Police involved in the Ashburton shooting incident,” a spokesman said.


John Tully is a person of interest sought by Police following the Ashburton shooting. Do not approach him. Call 111.pic.twitter.com/ZYvC2m55KF
New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) September 1, 2014

Earlier, heavily-armed police raided a Housing NZ house in the town but the house was empty.

Police let off a smoke grenade at the rear of the house and smashed the door but came out saying the house was “all clear”.

It is believed Tully “may have been in the possession of a sawn-off shotgun”, police said.

Only last month Tully appeared in a series of articles published by the Ashburton Guardian newspaper highlighting his struggles with homelessness. In the series he reveals he had returned to Ashburton following a career in the Australian mines. He said he had “come home to die” from a mystery skin disease which caused boil-type lumps if untreated and tightened the joints causing limited movement. The stories have been republished in full.


Sightings of Tully should be reported immediately to Police. Next media conference at 5pm, Ashburton Police Station.pic.twitter.com/BgXMGOQGyZ
New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) September 1, 2014


Lawmaker Winston Peters said in a statement that Tully had emailed his political party on August 14 about the difficulty of finding a house to live in.

We replied immediately and also followed up,” Peters said.

However, the emails kept bouncing back.”

ONE News reporter Donna-Marie Lever says she has been told by residents that the man is a local and that he “did have an axe to grind with the WINZ and had been trespassed from the office in the past.”

Police confirmed Tully had been issued a trespass notice to stay away from the Ashburton Work and Income office after exhibiting “intimidating behaviour” in another incident.


Lever said she understands the man was very calm when he entered the office, but that there was a lot of screaming after the shooting and that he was yelling as he fled the scene.
A witness who was in the building at the time said the gunman shot two women, one of whom was interviewing him at the time.


It was incredibly loud, I could feel the air whoosh past my head,” the witness said.
View image on Twitter
: Armed police search properties in , for the gunman who killed 2 people and injured another.
He followed the man outside.

He must have broken the gun down because he put it in his back pack,” he said.
One witness, who didn’t want to be named, said he saw a staff member from Work and Income run from the shop after the shooter yelling “You bastard, you’ve blown her to bits”, The New Zealand Herald reported.


A postie at a business across the road heard the man screaming and swearing as he left the building.


View image on Twitter
Scene of shooting in , . Locals urged to stay inside as police search for the gunman; 2 reportedly dead.
The Ministry of Social Development Chief Executive Brendan Boyle said all their offices in Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch would be closed until further notice.
Mr Boyle said in a statement: “We are all shocked by the news of this morning’s incident at the Ashburton Work and Income office.

The Police are handling this serious situation. What I can say is that we will be there for our colleagues to support them as they come to terms with what has happened.

Until we know more, we have closed all Ministry of Social Development offices in Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch.”

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