The Aramoana massacre was an incident that occurred on the 13th and 14th of November 1990 in Aramoana, New Zealand. Resident David Gray, an unemployed gun collector, went on a rampage in which 13 people were shot dead, before Gray himself was shot by police.

Timeline of events

Gray's spree began following an argument with his neighbour, Gary Holden. The argument escalated and Gray shot Holden with a rifle. At this point Gray preceded to enter Holden's property where upon discovering Holden's daughter, Chiquita, wounded her with a shot. Chiquita then fled to another to home of a friend, Julie Ann Bryson, on the way discovering her father lying on the ground, face down. Bryson telephoned emergency services and realising her daughter Rewa, and Chiquita's sister, Jasmine were still in the Holden house, drove her van there with Chiquita in an attempt to save them. Gray shot at the van as it passed the house, which was now ablaze.

At this point Gray started shooting indiscriminately, firstly killing Vanessa Percy, as she ran down the street in terror, then killing two young boys, Leo Wilson and Dion Percy. The boys' sister, Stacey, received severe wounds to her abdomen. Ross Percy (the children's father, who had been driving them home when he stopped to investigate the fire at the Holden house) and Alec Tali were the next to be shot and killed. Gray then entered the home of Tim Jamieson, killing him and another local, Vic Crimp. The next victims were Jim Dickson and Chris Cole, who died later in hospital.

Police then arrived, in the form of Port Chalmers officer Sergeant Stewart Guthrie. Guthrie located Gray and fired a warning shot. Gray shouted "don't shoot!", leading Guthrie to believe Gray was surrendering. However Gray suddenly opened fire, killing Guthrie instantly with a shot to the head.

Minutes later the Armed Offenders Squad began to arrive, sealing off the town (New Zealand's uniformed police officers do not usually carry firearms). The situation was especially dangerous as Gray had a scope atop of his rifle, making him accurate even at a long range. In the early hours of the morning of the 14th, the squad began to move into Aramoana, searching houses. Gray was finally located and tear gas thrown into the house he occupied. This was not to be the end of the drama though as Gray ran out of the house, gun blazing, shouting "Kill me, kill me". The police abided by his request, and Gray died, suicide by cop.

Rewa Bryson and Jasmine Holden's charred bodies were found in what remained of what had been the Holden family home. Gray had claimed 13 victims, leaving the town Aramoana devastated and with a significantly smaller population that it had had a mere 34 hours before.

Causes

David Gray's mental and physical state worsened in the months leading up to the attack and in retrospect it is suggested he may have been afflicted by schizophrenia. There was some evidence of a progressive decline in his mental state before the shootings, as he alienated his few friends with paranoid accusations and became increasingly unkempt in appearance.

It is likely Gray was influenced by the literature he read, in particular books by American author Kurt Saxon . Many other books in his collection revolved around themes of guns, survivalism and violence. In addition, Gray had been unemployed for years and was something of a loner; it is likely that this social isolation contributed to his unbalanced mental state.

However, any surety to the exact cause of the Aramoana tragedy died with Gray.

Aftermath

Aramoana as a town continues and a memorial to the victims stands within it. The incident indirectly resulted in an amendment to New Zealand's firearms regulations in 1992; this was essentially a tightening of gun control in the country. Many of the officers involved in ending the siege received Gallantry Awards from Queen Elizabeth II, New Zealand's head of state.

External links

• Kurt Saxon's website
• TIME Magazine article on the incident (subscription required)