Gun madness but thankfully no-one killed.

Warrigal

Warrigal

SF VIP
Location
Sydney, Australia
Picture this - An Australian couple are driving on a lonely road connecting Adelaide and Perth. They are crossing the Nullabor Plain (Null arbor = without a tree). Another car comes up behind them and there is "a minor rear end collision". I'm not sure what that means because crossing the Nullabor is usually a high speed journey.

Anyhow, the second driver doesn't stop. Instead he takes off at speed without exchanging driver's licence details.

The rear ended driver, one Michael Craig Anderson, who is a 53 year old technical college teacher is angry about having his holiday spoiled. He is nervous, frustrated, and very upset that his wife, a nervous lady, is also upset.

In Anderson's own words, "We were both really scared shitless. Here's this creep, just comes out of nowhere and ruins our perfect holiday and just drives off like it's got nothing to do with him." So he takes off after him at 200 km per hour (124 mph) to get the registration plate details

Somewhere in this mad chase, the second car nearly sideswipes Anderson's car, although I'm finding this difficult to understand given that Anderson is the follower. Then Anderson gets mad.

Reaching under his seat he reaches for his gun bag which contains his revolver. His other guns, to be used for shooting feral goats, are in the boot (trunk to Americans). It isn't loaded so he waves it at the other driver to make him stop.

He doesn't stop. He drives away at speed, further proof of his aggression towards Anderson.

Time to load the revolver and start shooting, meaning no harm, of course. Just a couple or rounds in the other driver's direction to calm the situation and to make him back off.

Good plan, but the police diagreed. Anderson, a former mechanic in the Army with extensive training with guns and a gun association member, has been charged with firing five shots at another driver in July last year on the Eyre Highway, which links South Australia and Western Australia. Verdict yet to be handed down.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-...kes-stand-in-road-rage-shooting-trial/5612660

What's the appropriate verdict?

Not guilty ? Let him off, let him keep his guns and write an article in his local paper praising him as a fearless hero.

Guilty of reckless endangerment of another person? Put him on a good behaviour bond of $5,000 with a suspended sentence of 3 months. Gun licences suspended for one year.

Not guilty on the grounds of temporary insanity ? Order anger management classes and ban him from owning guns in future.

Think up your own verdict and/or punishment. What would happen where you live.
 

Generally the way the law applies in a situation like this, at least over here, is that once the perp rear-ends you and takes off, the situation is ended. You're supposed to meekly talk to your insurance agent to fix the damage.

Pursuing the perp, especially at high speeds, and then waving a gun around is going to get you arrested. Actually discharging the firearm is going to get you even heavier sentencing.

I wouldn't say he's NOT guilty, but I also wouldn't make a big deal out it. No, he's not a hero (that term has lost most of its meaning for me), he's not an innocent and he should have had more sense than to start recklessly firing the gun like Yosemite Sam.

Slap a small fine on him and turn him loose - focus your energies on finding the clown that rear-ended him in the first place.
 
rkunsaw said:
I would agree with Phil if I thought this was a true story. But we all know no one in Australia would ever have a gun under his seat.
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I can only assume that that is irony at work.

If not, here's the headline
Michael Craig Anderson: Alleged shooter in high-speed road rage attack takes the stand

By court reporter Loukas Founten
Posted 3 hours 52 minutes ago

Photo: Michael Craig Anderson says he fired the shots without any intention to kill. (ABC News: Tim Ide)
Related Story: Driver phoned in panic as shots fired in road rage attack
Related Story: Man denies trying to kill driver in road rage shooting

Map: Adelaide 5000

A Perth man accused of shooting at another driver during a high-speed road rage incident has told an Adelaide court that he just wanted to scare the other man away.
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These are credible news sources.

Here's the other side of the story:

[h=1]Driver phoned in panic for help as shots were fired in Eyre Highway road rage attack[/h] By court reporter Loukas Founten
Posted Fri 18 Jul 2014, 1:24pm AEST
Photo: Michael Craig Anderson admitted firing shots. (ABC News: Tim Ide)
Related Story: Man denies trying to kill driver in road rage shooting

Map: Kimba 5641

A man rang emergency services in panic as shots were fired at him during a high-speed road rage incident, the South Australian Supreme Court has heard.

Audio has been played to the court of Zephatali Walsh telling a phone operator "a crazy guy with a gun" was shooting at him.

"I've got no idea who he is. I've got no idea, just some crazy guy with a gun," the operator heard.
"He's going to shoot me. I'm going to die. I'm really scared. Who does that? Shoots a f****** gun at someone?
"I've never even seen a gun before. This guy's a f****** nutcase. I really need the police now. Where are they?"

Mr Walsh told the operator he was driving at close to 200 kilometres per hour on the Eyre Highway and was almost out of fuel.

He said he was scared he might end up at the mercy of the gunman.

The recordings were from last July when Mr Walsh's car was pursued by another driven by Perth man Michael Craig Anderson, 53, on the main highway linking South Australia and Western Australia.

[h=2]Attempted murder charge[/h]Anderson is on trial for attempted murder after prosecutors rejected his plea to a lesser charge, aggravated endangering life.

Mr Walsh told the court of his efforts to avoid being hit.
"I ducked behind the steering wheel ... I looked between the little gap and just put my foot down," he said.
"As soon as I saw the gun my heart was racing. I was just petrified. I was panicked. I thought I was going to die."
Mr Walsh says he was hyperventilating and nearly passed out.

The prosecutor asked him why.

"I was going to run out of fuel and be at the mercy of the gun person," he responded.
When police reached Mr Walsh, his car had run out of fuel and needed be towed to Port Augusta.
He had been driving from Penong bound for Adelaide at the time the other car approached from behind.
The trial continues.
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I note that the charge is now attempted murder.
 
Just on initial impressions it sounds like good ol' Zephatali is a liar - his little rant on the phone to the police sounds totally fabricated. If I were being shot at I wouldn't waste the breath to say "I've never even seen a gun before". Besides, if he truly hadn't seen a gun before how did he know that Mr. Anderson wasn't holding up a new breed of chock?

It just sounds all wrong ...
 
Additional detail

Police eventually caught up with both drivers separately.

They allegedly found a 0.357 Smith and Wesson Magnum revolver under the driver's seat in Anderson's car along with two other guns in the boot. Also in the boot, in a suitcase and wrapped in a handkerchief, was a speed loader, used to quickly load a firearm.

The speed loader had in it five spent cartridge cases and one live round, each compatible with the revolver.The court was told six other live rounds were found in a separate speed loader in the car's console. Mr Pearce said swabs taken from Anderson's hands by forensic experts showed traces of three chemical compounds that are emitted when a gun is fired.
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I have no idea what a speed loader is but it must be useful when you are shooting feral goats with a revolver. :dunno:
 
SifuPhil said:
Just on initial impressions it sounds like good ol' Zephatali is a liar - his little rant on the phone to the police sounds totally fabricated. If I were being shot at I wouldn't waste the breath to say "I've never even seen a gun before". Besides, if he truly hadn't seen a gun before how did he know that Mr. Anderson wasn't holding up a new breed of chock?

It just sounds all wrong ...
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The trial will take about 6 days. I'll try to find the verdict and sentence for you.
 
SifuPhil said:
Just on initial impressions it sounds like good ol' Zephatali is a liar - his little rant on the phone to the police sounds totally fabricated. If I were being shot at I wouldn't waste the breath to say "I've never even seen a gun before". Besides, if he truly hadn't seen a gun before how did he know that Mr. Anderson wasn't holding up a new breed of chock?

It just sounds all wrong ...
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It's not just snakes and spiders that are dangerous in the outback. If you've seen the movie Wolf Creek, it was based on a real outback serial killer, Bradley John Murdoch. Then there is Ivan Milat, the backpacker murderer. He disposed of his victims in a lonely forest in NSW.
 
Sorry but as far as I'm concerned reading all this Anderson is the aggressor. Sure he was rear ended, and the first guy was totally at fault for that and leaving the scene, but suddenly we have this other guy who promotes not just himself but also his wife as timid nervous, and scared shitless (his words)... creatures, yet he takes off like a bat out of hell after the other driver, waving a gun at him ...yeah right!! Exactly the type of response a nervous , terrified, timid person does all the time.

There can't have been much wrong with his car either after it had been rear ended otherwise he wouldn't have been able to chase the other driver at speeds of 124mph!! I think Anderson is unhinged to be honest with you!!
 
Here's the reason why the revolver was under the seat.

Giving evidence today, Anderson said he and his wife were on the third day of a planned three-day trip from WA to SA, to meet their granddaughter and “shoot feral goats” with her father.

He agreed he had three guns in his car that day, but insisted all were being carried in strict adherence “to WA and SA gun laws”.
Anderson, a member of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, said his rifle and one of his handguns were locked in the boot of his car.

“The Smith & Wesson, or the baby if you like, she’s precious and she was under the seat,” he said. “Of an evening I would take her into the hotel room with me (so that) if the car got stolen I didn’t lose all my firearms.”

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...feared-the-creep/story-fni6uo1m-1226996445839
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I have to keep emphasising that this man is an ex soldier and a member of the Sporting Shooters Assoc. And he teaches kids at TAFE. A conviction should result in him losing his job.
 
re:“The Smith & Wesson, or the baby if you like, she’s precious and she was under the seat,” he said. “Of an evening I would take her into the hotel room with me (so that) if the car got stolen I didn’t lose all my firearms.”

This man has serious issues.IMO

"her"?? how does he know its a female.:)
 
Davey Jones said:
re:“The Smith & Wesson, or the baby if you like, she’s precious and she was under the seat,” he said. “Of an evening I would take her into the hotel room with me (so that) if the car got stolen I didn’t lose all my firearms.”

This man has serious issues.IMO

"her"?? how does he know its a female.:)
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LOL!

I used to refer to my cars as my "precious babies" until my team of psychiatrists cured me.

This guy sounds a little too gung-ho ...
 
I think if somebody rear-ended me, then took off in a hit-and-run, I'd focus on getting the description of the car and driver to report it to the authorities. Hopefully the authorities would do their job and seek out the offender. Did the guy who initially ran into the back of his car get any kind of a ticket or fine at all? I agree, the use of the gun was irresponsible and uncalled for, he should be fined and let go with warning.
 
I think it's a novelty that some folks assign a gender to their possessions (cars, guns etc.)

However, I've noticed that all large ships at sea are FEMALE. SHE/HER.

Even WHALES, as in, "Thar she blows !"
 
I just think the whole thing is nuts! I think the guy with his wife that got hit by the other driver, should have stopped, reported it and left it to the law. That vigilante stuff is taking the law into our own hands, and as tempting as it might be, I don't think it's smart. Plus the fact Anderson was putting his wife in danger. He made himself "worse" then the guy that hit him.

By the same token, too many people are getting away with murder.
 
I think the guy with his wife that got hit by the other driver, should have stopped, reported it and left it to the law.
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That's what might happen on an ordinary road but out on the Nullabor plain there's nothing much to break up very long stretches of empty road. What surprises me is that there was any telephone signal down there. Perhaps an emergency call is all that is possible to make because I've found the signal between outback towns disappears completely.

http://www.australia.com/explore/itineraries/crossing-nullarbor.aspx

nullarbor_road.jpg
 
Dame Warrigal said:
That's what might happen on an ordinary road but out on the Nullabor plain there's nothing much to break up very long stretches of empty road. What surprises me is that there was any telephone signal down there. Perhaps an emergency call is all that is possible to make because I've found the signal between outback towns disappears completely.

http://www.australia.com/explore/itineraries/crossing-nullarbor.aspx

nullarbor_road.jpg
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Well, that is not too far from out in our mountains around here, no cell signals up there, but still, report the guy when you get to where you do have a signal. And as I think I mentioned, people are getting away with things, and I can't blame people for "feeling" like they need to take the law into their own hands, I think it might be coming to that one day. Maybe it is here, ok, I'm going to get my gun. Damn it's a scarey world:help1:
 
Plainly, the young man was very scared. He made the mistake of setting out without extra fuel and was running out of petrol. That's why he was driving slowly. He thought it would save fuel. Any decent person who came across him in those circumstances would offer help but the 53 yr old nut case played silly buggers by overtaking him, slowing down, then hitting the brakes, thereby causing the rear end collision himself. For whatever reason the young man panicked and drove away at speed, only to be pursued down a lonely road by a man waving a pistol. Eventually bullets started to fly. This is a Mad Max scenario in real life.

Luckily so-one was hurt. I will try to keep up with the trial but it happened in South Australia and our newspapers in NSW are not likely to give it much coverage. However, Mr Google will reveal all if I ask nicely.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
Plainly, the young man was very scared. He made the mistake of setting out without extra fuel and was running out of petrol. That's why he was driving slowly. He thought it would save fuel. Any decent person who came across him in those circumstances would offer help but the 53 yr old nut case played silly buggers by overtaking him, slowing down, then hitting the brakes, thereby causing the rear end collision himself. For whatever reason the young man panicked and drove away at speed, only to be pursued down a lonely road by a man waving a pistol. Eventually bullets started to fly. This is a Mad Max scenario in real life.

Luckily so-one was hurt. I will try to keep up with the trial but it happened in South Australia and our newspapers in NSW are not likely to give it much coverage. However, Mr Google will reveal all if I ask nicely.
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I need to re-read it Dame, I am confused now. I apologize, I misread a lot of things. denise
 

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