Time to clean up Adelaide's gangsters
gangsters强盗
GUN-WIELDING "gangsters" are making the city unsafe and their haunts must be shut down immediately, Adelaide Lord Mayor Michael Harbison says.
haunts 罪犯等的巢穴
In the wake of yesterday's dramatic early morning shooting in Gouger St where a person was wounded and a bystander injured, Mr Harbison has challenged the State Government to institute the "clean-up".
While Mr Harbison wants businesses to bring back a feeling of community safety, political leaders called for a greater police presence on the beat.
A young man was shot in the leg outside Gaucho's Argentinian Restaurant about 1am and a stray bullet narrowly missed a woman and driver in a nearby taxi when two shots were fired by a man with a handgun following an alleged dispute between two groups of men.
a stray bullet 流弹 alleged 宣称
The woman received minor cuts from flying glass.
It was the third shooting in one of Adelaide's premier restaurant strips in the past five months.
In May, 12 men, believed to have links with outlaw motorcycle gangs, were involved in a wild shootout outside Gaucho's when diners were forced to duck under tables for cover. A man, 38, has since been charged with endangering life over the incident.
were forced to duck under tables 被迫向鸭子一样藏在桌子下面
In June, a teenage gunman fired several shots through a window at the Buddha Bar.
Police charged a boy, 17, with endangering life. Mr Harbison said the street was unsafe, the public terrified and Adelaide's reputation as a peaceful city was ruined.
"We can't, with a straight face, say the area is safe when this sort of event occurs," he said. "We are horrified by this situation and outraged by it and I call on the Liquor Licensing Commission to shut them down."
After yesterday's incident, police charged a Henley Beach man, 23, with three counts of endangering life, aggravated assault causing serious harm and a host of firearm offences.
He was refused bail and was expected to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court tomorrow.
Mr Harbison said unless the street was cleaned up immediately a life would be lost. " . . . Enough is enough," he said. "When . . . customers are shooting at each other, there's something wrong."
Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago said it was a matter for the independent Liquor Licensing Commissioner, in conjunction with police.
A Gouger St Traders spokeswoman said the association considered the three shootings this year as "isolated" incidents.
isolated隔离的
"We're working with the Adelaide City Council in improving the safety of the street," she said. "We promote Gouger St as a family environment and we encourage families to come along and enjoy the many benefits of the area."
Police found a loaded pistol dumped in a bin on Franklin St, outside Eynesbury College early yesterday. They said the shooting was not "bikie-related".
Pools of blood outside Gaucho's show the shot man staggered for more than 20m before collapsing with a bullet in his leg. He underwent surgery yesterday and was in a stable condition in Royal Adelaide Hospital yesterday.
Members of the public chased the alleged gunman through city streets before police apprehended a man near Grote St at about 3.30am.
Police Minister Michael Wright said the shooting validated the Government's new, tougher gun laws, coming into effect within a fortnight.
"It's extremely fortunate that no one was critically or fatally injured," Mr Wright said.
fortunate 幸运的
Former Liberal police minister now Family First MP, Robert Brokenshire, said Adelaide's growing gun culture should be "jumped on from a great height".
Mr Harbison added: "We also call upon the Licensing Court to require these businesses to have security cameras within their premises."
A man who was in Gouger St before the shooting, who did not identify himself, said he saw two groups of agitated young men outside Gaucho's about 11pm on Saturday.
He said the groups returned two hours later and a short time later the shooting happened. SA Taxi Council vice-president Wally Sievers would not reveal the cab company involved but he said drivers and the public wanted an end to wild shootings in Gouger St.
He stopped short of saying cabbies would avoid Gouger St but he said everybody needed to be protected.
cabbies 出租车司机
"It's innocent parties involved and with stray bullets flying around it's just by sheer luck that somebody is not killed," he said. "They want something down to make things stop.
Gaucho's management would not comment.
[ 本帖最后由 jh_hammer 于 2008-10-6 09:17 编辑 ] |