Lake Cargelligo, Australia — Police are hunting for a fugitive gunman accused of killing three people in a small New South Wales town, amid revelations he was on bail for domestic violence offences at the time of the alleged murders.
Authorities say Julian Ingram, 37, also known as Julian Pierpoint, opened fire on four people in Lake Cargelligo, about 450km west of Sydney, on Thursday afternoon.
Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland confirmed on Friday that Ingram was last seen leaving the town by road. “Our last sightings were on a road out of Lake Cargelligo,” he told reporters, adding that investigators believe all victims were related to the suspect.
Local media identified one of the victims as Sophie Quinn, Ingram’s 25-year-old former partner, who was seven months pregnant. She was reportedly shot dead alongside a friend in a vehicle. A relative of Quinn was killed in a second shooting shortly afterward, while a 19-year-old remains in critical condition in hospital.
Quinn’s mother, Cathy Quinn, described her daughter as “a fun girl to be around” who did not have “a mean bone in her.” Sophie was due to give birth to a son in March.
Police say Ingram had never held a gun licence, and investigators are probing how he obtained the firearms used in the attacks.
More than 100 officers, including tactical units, are involved in the manhunt. Holland noted that Ingram, a local council employee, has extensive knowledge of the area. “It would be feasible that he could obviously maintain an extended period in the local area without being detected,” he said.
The killings have left the victims’ families devastated. “They’re not doing well,” Holland acknowledged.
