[ad_1]
The man behind the March 15 terror attack considered not seeking medical assistance after accidentally shooting himself and made up a story in case police questioned him about it.
The findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques were released to the public on Tuesday.
It revealed that the gunman’s right eye and thigh were injured in a firearms incident on July 13, 2018, requiring treatment at the Dunedin Hospital emergency department (ED).
The would-be terrorist told the Emergency Department recorder that the injury was caused by an ammunition explosion while cleaning the barrel of a rifle.
READ MORE:
* How the Christchurch terrorist spent his last months before the March 15 attack
* March 15 terrorist accidentally shot himself months before the mosque attack.
* Despite signs, Christchurch terrorist could only have been detained ‘by chance’: investigation
The Australian citizen told the royal commission that he was concerned that the shot might have been heard and reported to the police. He ran a scenario in his mind of what he would say if the police came to question him. That moment never came.
He also told the commission that he weighed whether he should seek medical treatment, but his concerns about his eyesight outweighed his reluctance to draw attention.
The registrar treated the man by removing a piece of metal from his right eye, vaccinating him against tetanus, and giving him intravenous antibiotics. He was also referred for an X-ray of his right thigh. The orthopedic service at the hospital recommended leaving the metal fragment on her thigh, as it was unlikely to cause any problems.
Hamish McNeilly / Stuff
The man responsible for the Christchurch terror attack went to Dunedin hospital with a gunshot wound several months earlier.
They prescribed eye drops, antibiotics, and paracetamol. While he was in the hospital, his landlord called to inquire about property maintenance issues, and the gunman informed him that he had accidentally fired a firearm while cleaning it in the living room.
He was discharged approximately five and a half hours after his arrival. The police were not notified.
The landlord went to inspect the damage the next day. The hole was about 7 millimeters in diameter and the bullet was lodged in a wooden beam above the ceiling. The landlord fixed the damage.
The gunman’s eye was found to be healing well at a follow-up appointment on July 23, 2018. The registrar informed him that he did not need to return unless he had a problem.
The royal commission’s report found that the Southern District Health Board (SDHB) was not negligent in not reporting the accident to the police, as it was not uncommon to treat a person for a minor injury from an accidental discharge of a weapon. of fire.
The SDHB did not have an explicit policy outlining what to do in the event of firearm-related injuries.
The recorder who dealt with the gunman told the commission that they thought the accident was “careless and a little unusual” but that the man was unremarkable and had not acted agitated.
The registrar believed the explanation for the injuries and did not think it was a suicide attempt.
The commission tried to determine what the gunman was doing at home with a rifle that had a bullet jammed in the chamber. One possible answer was that he had been practicing with his large capacity magazines. The gunman told the commission that he had practiced at home with large capacity magazines, but that they were always empty.
He said he thought there was an obstruction in the barrel.
“Their attempts to release the bullet were based on the erroneous assumption that the rifle had a ‘drop-proof’ operational safety feature and resulted in contact between the firing pin and the primer,” the commission said.
Although the commission found no flaws in the way the SDHB and ACC handled information about the incident, consideration should be given to requiring automatic reporting of firearm injuries.
“Such an injury may say something about a person’s fitness to possess a firearms license and this is particularly true if there is a history of similar incidents.”
SDHB Executive Director Chris Fleming said he welcomed the debate on what doctors facing decisions about gunshot injuries should do, including whether there should be mandatory reports to the police.
“Reporting firearm injuries is not required and it is impossible for clinicians to predict all outcomes.”
It was a “horrendous tragedy” from which society must learn, Fleming said.
