A man has been shot dead by police in regional New South Wales after allegedly aiming a loaded rifle at officers responding to a car crash. NSW police were responding to reports that a car had driven into a tree on a road 84km north of Yass about 2.50pm on Sunday. Officers arrived to find a Chrysler station wagon that had crashed into a tree, with the driver appearing to be unconscious.
Police had been told that the man had a firearm with him in the car, an assistant commissioner, Stephen Hegarty, said on Monday. As they approached that vehicle, they tried to speak and communicate with that person but he did not respond.” The man then picked up the firearm and pointed it “directly at the police officer”, Hegarty said. The police officers were “quite close to the car” when the shooting occurred, Hegarty said.
The driver was yet to be formally identified but was believed to be aged 45, was known to police, and had previously been charged with firearm offences, Hegarty said. A crime scene was established and an investigation has begun. The investigation will be the subject of an independent review by the professional standards command, overseen by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
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