Despite staring down the rifle of an unstable, ranting alleged terrorist, a dive store employee stated he selected to be variety, even providing his captor a bottle of water.
A routine work day for Neil Hay turned dramatic when Simon William Fleming is accused of coming into the Windang Dive & Spearfishing premises on the morning of November 28, 2021 to take hostages.
“Sorry, you’re the only ones open,” he stated to Hay.
The informal dive store employee, who remained within the retailer with Fleming for about an hour, selected to not upset him, as a substitute asking if he wanted assist after which offering some water earlier than he was let go.
Hay described the scene to a NSW Supreme Court jury on Tuesday, saying Fleming appeared “unstable” as he barricaded himself within the store, in suburban Wollongong.
“I didn’t want to antagonise him because he was highly agitated,” he stated.
With a bolt-action rifle, a duplicate gel blaster navy rifle and a mock bomb, Fleming muttered to himself and ranted about how Australia was a communist police state the place its residents have been managed with out their data.
The dive store’s proprietor, Keith Woods, was additionally allegedly held hostage however was let go early, leaving Hay alone inside with Fleming.
“Mr Hay, you’re to be commended for your calmness and your kindness on that day,” stated Justice Helen Wilson.
Earlier that morning, retired military veteran Keith Rule was driving by means of the world and stated he noticed Fleming at an intersection firing his rifle and pointing it at one other automotive.
“I had a quick thought about running him over,” he instructed the jury.
Deciding to not as a result of there was an opportunity Fleming might hearth and hit his spouse, Mr Rule stated the couple pulled over at a petroleum station.
He then adopted Fleming on foot, yelling at him.
“Oi dickhead, what do you think you’re f—ing doing? This is Windang. Put the f—ing weapon down,” he shouted at Fleming.
The Crown alleges Fleming’s actions have been a case of terrorism, motivated by a want to intimidate the Australian public and the federal government.
He is contesting the cost that he was motivated by terrorism, in addition to fees for utilizing a firearm in a way prone to endanger members of the general public, detaining the hostages, utilizing a faux bomb to create a false sense of hazard and unlawfully possessing gel blasters discovered at his dwelling.
His mom, Carol Fleming, stated her son had been struggling withdrawals from ache remedy which now not labored as supposed for 15 years earlier than the incident on the dive store.
“Sometimes he would be in tears and begging for help. Quite often he wanted to die,” she stated.
Expressing a eager curiosity in religions, Fleming transformed to Catholicism in 2018 and claimed he had seen the Shroud of Turin, presupposed to be the burial material of Jesus Christ bearing his face, in a cloud.
Previously a loner, Fleming discovered friendship in Bible research and drew calligraphy for these he knew by means of the church till COVID-19 lockdowns eliminated face-to-face meet-ups.
Mrs Fleming, who often broke down in tears within the witness field, stated she was by no means instructed by medical doctors that her son had a psychological sickness however knew due to the remedy he took and stories she had seen.
Body-worn footage performed to the jury confirmed frantic chatter between law enforcement officials as they tried to securely cope with the state of affairs earlier than Fleming surrendered and was arrested.
During negotiations with police, he demanded that “all face masks be removed from Australia”.
The court docket beforehand heard that in his manifesto he railed towards migrants, transgender folks, the Chinese and left-wing Marxists and claimed he needed to fireplace a “warning shot” to the federal government.
Source: www.9news.com.au
