ID :
205559
Tue, 09/06/2011 - 15:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/205559
The shortlink copeid
Parramatta bomb threat drama continues
SYDNEY (AAP)- Sept. 6 - A man is holed up in a Sydney legal office with his daughter and a possible bomb in what police describe as a "delicate and dangerous" situation.
The man walked into Arthur Phillips Chambers at 11 George Street in Parramatta at about 9.15 (AEST) on Tuesday.
He demanded to see a person who was unknown to staff and got agitated when told that person did not work there.
Police said he then made threats about having a bomb in a backpack, and a witness described how he hurled a legal book at reception.
The man, aged in his fifties, was later seen through a window on the second floor of the building, shirtless and wearing a barrister's wig which he also repeatedly spat on.
Witnesses later saw him smash a hole in the window and heard him scream something.
Police Assistant Commissioner Dennis Clifford said the man had made a number of demands but declined to elaborate.
"There's a number of issues that I don't think I should canvass at this stage," he said.
"Whenever it is going the way it's going at the moment, we are talking to the person, and no one has been injured, we are making progress."
Mr Clifford added police had also spoken to the man's 12-year-old daughter, who remains with him in the office in Sydney's west.
"We are making progress ... you can't put a timeline on these things," he said.
Police are hoping to work through the man's concerns to achieve a peaceful end to the ordeal.
Mr Clifford said no family members had been brought in to negotiate at this stage.
He did not believe food or water had been provided to the man or his daughter.
He said the daughter appeared to be coping as well as could be expected.
Police could not confirm whether an explosive device was contained in the backpack but said they were taking his threats seriously.
"I'd rather err on the side of caution," Mr Clifford said.
"He has said that he has an explosive in the bag and until we can prove otherwise, we are treating it as a very delicate and dangerous situation."
Asked whether police were concerned that the incident might be a copycat of the Madeleine Pulver case, in which an 18-year-old schoolgirl had a fake collar bomb strapped around her neck, Mr Clifford said: "That's always a concern."
"But really we will deal with the situation we have here."
Ten News later reported the man had been involved in a security incident at Parliament House on Monday and was subsequently arrested at Governor Macquarie Tower.
He was also previously charged in relation to his involvement in a 1987 protest over the death in custody of indigenous man Lloyd Boney, the network said.
The man walked into Arthur Phillips Chambers at 11 George Street in Parramatta at about 9.15 (AEST) on Tuesday.
He demanded to see a person who was unknown to staff and got agitated when told that person did not work there.
Police said he then made threats about having a bomb in a backpack, and a witness described how he hurled a legal book at reception.
The man, aged in his fifties, was later seen through a window on the second floor of the building, shirtless and wearing a barrister's wig which he also repeatedly spat on.
Witnesses later saw him smash a hole in the window and heard him scream something.
Police Assistant Commissioner Dennis Clifford said the man had made a number of demands but declined to elaborate.
"There's a number of issues that I don't think I should canvass at this stage," he said.
"Whenever it is going the way it's going at the moment, we are talking to the person, and no one has been injured, we are making progress."
Mr Clifford added police had also spoken to the man's 12-year-old daughter, who remains with him in the office in Sydney's west.
"We are making progress ... you can't put a timeline on these things," he said.
Police are hoping to work through the man's concerns to achieve a peaceful end to the ordeal.
Mr Clifford said no family members had been brought in to negotiate at this stage.
He did not believe food or water had been provided to the man or his daughter.
He said the daughter appeared to be coping as well as could be expected.
Police could not confirm whether an explosive device was contained in the backpack but said they were taking his threats seriously.
"I'd rather err on the side of caution," Mr Clifford said.
"He has said that he has an explosive in the bag and until we can prove otherwise, we are treating it as a very delicate and dangerous situation."
Asked whether police were concerned that the incident might be a copycat of the Madeleine Pulver case, in which an 18-year-old schoolgirl had a fake collar bomb strapped around her neck, Mr Clifford said: "That's always a concern."
"But really we will deal with the situation we have here."
Ten News later reported the man had been involved in a security incident at Parliament House on Monday and was subsequently arrested at Governor Macquarie Tower.
He was also previously charged in relation to his involvement in a 1987 protest over the death in custody of indigenous man Lloyd Boney, the network said.
