In November 1993 an event known as the "Jolimont Centre siege" took place resulting in the serious wounding of 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 The Jolimont Centre is a commercial building in Canberra, Australia. It is also the city's long-distance coach station. History In the late 1920s, a timber building named the Jolimont Building was erected in Civic, on a block bounded by Northbo ...

, located in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

, was the home of the Department of Industrial Relations and radio station 2CA.

Events

About 7:30 a.m., on 29 November 1993, 47-year-old Felipe Ruizdiaz shot and wounded local pool manager, Geoff McGibbon, at the Dickson Swimming Pool in

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, in an apparent revenge attack on his estranged wife. Ruizdiaz threw several

petrol bombs A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamm ...

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 AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products (through AMP Banking) including home loans and savings accounts. Its headquarters is in Sy ...

—and its tenants. Two local radio stations and numerous employees were inside the centre at the time, requiring tactical police to assist in their evacuation. After several explosions, which resulted in the street being showered with broken glass,

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. ...

Special Operations Team personnel wearing breathing apparatus entered the centre, eventually locating the deceased gunman with shotgun wounds to his stomach and his body badly burned.

References

External links

Images and news coverage of the 1993 Jolimont siege
{{Australian_crime Jolimont Centre siege Crime in the Australian Capital Territory Hostage taking in Australia Jolimont Centre siege Jolimont Centre siege

Events

See also

References

External links