Grieving mother Olga Edwards has released the first images of her children Jack Edwards, aged 15, and Jennifer Edwards, aged 13, who were killed in what police have described as a “planned” shooting in their Pennant Hills home on Thursday afternoon.
The two teenagers were home alone at approximately 5.20pm when their father John Edwards entered the home carrying a pair of handguns. A senior police source said the pair “were trying to hide in a bedroom and were huddled together when he opened fire.”
John Edwards had been estranged from the children’s mother for several years, and police believe he hired a car so that his children would not recognise him when he pulled up outside the home, and timed the attack for when he knew their mother would still be at work.
After an overnight search, police found his body at a home in Normanhurst, on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, along with a pair of “powerful handguns” believed to have been used in the attack. He had registered for his firearms license in late 2017.
Questions have been raised over his access to firearms after police confirmed his “violent” history, his recent involvement in custody hearings, and his rejection from several gun clubs. Both sides of NSW politics have said they will consider reforms to gun licensing laws.
Numerous floral tributes have been left outside the family’s Pennant Hills home in recent days, while the local Russian community has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money in order for Olga Edwards’ mother to fly to Australia.
