7 Dead in Australia's Worst Mass Shooting in Decades

This is considered to be the worst mass shooting in the nation since 1996.

• By Sydny Shepard
• May 11, 2018

Seven people were found dead with gunshot wounds at a property near the tourist town of Margaret River in Australia on Friday in what would be the country's worst mass shooting since 1996, police said.

The bodies of three adults and four children and two guns were found at a rural property at the village of Osmington, Western Australia state Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said. They all resided on the property.

Police have no information to raise concerns about wider public safety, but would not comment on if the crime was a murder-suicide.

"Police are currently responding to what I can only describe as a horrific incident," Dawson told reporters. "This devastating tragedy will no doubt have a lasting impact on the families concerned, the whole community and, in particular, the local communities in our southwest."

Police have revealed little details about the killings, and it is not clear whether there was more than one shooter. Farmers are allowed to own guns under Australian law because they have a legitimate need to use them to kill feral pests and predators or sick or injured livestock. But automatic and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns are banned from public ownership.

This is considered to be the worst mass shooting that Australia has seen since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996, prompting the nation to introduce tough gun control.