Further details have emerged of an incident at a Melbourne CBD nightclub this morning in which two people were shot by police, with reports that the pair were a couple, and were dressed as Batman villains when the man pulled a “fake” gun.
The Age spoke to a source from Inflation nightclub, who said that the pair were attending an event known as the Saints & Sinners Ball, billed as Australia’s “raunchiest party” for “broadminded adults”, in costume as The Joker and Harley Quinn.
The source went on to claim that the couple were engaged in a “sexual act” in front of other party-goers when police from the Critical Incident Response Team entered the premises just after 3am.
It is alleged that the man, aged 35, pulled a handgun on police before being shot and tased, however, The Age’s source claims that the gun was merely a prop, and part of his costume.
Victoria Police Northwest Metro superintendent Lisa Hardeman told media that a man was observed at the venue pulling what appeared to be a firearm from his pants; he was ordered to drop it, after which shots were fired.
She said that police received “a number of phone calls” from patrons at the party concerned about a man with a firearm, as well as one from the venue itself, and added:
“I do believe that security were informed that it was a fake gun. That was told to police and that formed part of our planning, but when the firearm was levelled at police and police asked the man to drop it, police at that stage were not aware whether it was an imitation or a real firearm.”
The man’s female companion was shot in the leg during the incident, and Hardeman said that this occurred due to their “close proximity” when police opened fire, in what she defended as a “spilt-second” decision.
Both were hospitalised after the incident, with the unnamed man in critical condition in Royal Melbourne Hospital after receiving wounds to the torso. The woman’s condition is described as stable.
There will be an official police investigation into the shooting, as is standard practice when officers discharge a weapon. It is understood that CCTV footage from the venue will form part of the investigation.
The couple were attending the “erotic fancy dress” ball, which had been advertised with a “rockers, punks & goths” theme, offering “no holds barred adult fun and excitement.”
Source: The Age.
Photo: Suicide Squad / Saints & Sinners Ball.
