Weapons 12 gauge shotgun Non-fatal injuries 1 | Deaths 1 (the perpetrator) | |
Location Jolimont Centre, Canberra, Australia Date November 29, 1993
7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Attack type Hostage-taking, shooting, bombing | ||
In November 1993 an event known as the "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.
The Jolimont Centre, located in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory was the home of the Department of Industrial Relations and local radio broadcaster FM104.7 2CA.
Events
About 7:30 a.m., on November 29, 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, Australia in an apparent revenge attack on his estranged wife. Ruizdiaz threw several petrol bombs and shot at the responding fire brigade and police officers.
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. The fire and explosions hampered rescue and police efforts and caused several million dollars worth of damage to the centre, impacting on the building's owner—AMP Limited—and its tenants.
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.