The Queen Street massacre was an event that resulted in the deaths of 8 people, and serious injury to 5 more on the afternoon of December 8, 1987.
The massacre occurred at the offices of Australia Post when former law student, 22 year old Frank Vitkovic walked into the building in Melbourne's Queen Street holding a brown paper bag and carrying a sawn-off shotgun.
The motivation for the massacre was Vitkovic's desire to murder a former school friend who worked in the building, and then to take out as many others as possible before ending his own life. On entering the fifth floor office where his friend worked Vitkovic pulled a sawn-off shotgun from the bag and began firing at fleeing workers, killing a young woman office worker. The friend chosen as the original target escaped unharmed. Vitkovic then travelled to the 11th and the 12th floors where he walked through office areas picking his targets randomly, shooting some workers at close range execution style as they cowered under their desks.
The massacre ended when the gun was wrested from Vitkovic by office worker Frank Carmody. Vitkovic then lunged for a broken window and plunged to his death. Carmody was recommended for a bravery award after his actions in disarming the killer
Victorian Police Minister Race Mathews and Attorney General Jim Kennan witnessed the event from a building diagonally opposite while gathered for a meeting.
See also
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