Woman tells of attack by ‘calm’ gunman

A gunman was “very calm” as he fired the shotgun blast that killed Ashburton WINZ receptionist Peggy Noble, a witness told the High Court in Christchurch.

Lucy Annabel Waller said the gunman had walked past her, at a distance of less than a metre as she stood waiting behind a customer at the reception desk. He appeared to be staring straight ahead.

She said the gunman walked briskly past her, lifted the shotgun and fired it at the receptionist.

She did not think the receptionist was aware of his approach. She then heard the woman screaming.

She said she then froze for a time before running out of the building, crossing the road to her car and driving off towards the police station. As she left the building, she thought she heard two or three more shots.

She said she had gone to the WINZ office to deliver a document and was waiting in front of the reception desk, when she saw a man in work boots come into the office. She saw he was wearing a black balaclava which was “a bit wonky”, and he was holding a gun beside his leg and it was pointing to the floor.

The man appeared to have blotchy red patches on his neck and hands. He was tall, with quite a skinny build. His skin colour was white. The black gun appeared to be a semi-automatic shotgun, with what appeared to be a cut-down barrel.

“I just froze and stood still,” she said.

Today was the fourth day of the trial before Justice Cameron Mander and a jury.

Tully is on trial for the murders of Peggy Turuhira Noble and Susan Leigh Cleveland and the attempted murder of Lindy Louise Curtis and Kim Elizabeth Adams, in a shotgun shooting at the Ashburton Work and Income NZ office on September 1, 2014.

He is also charged with setting a man trap – a steel wire stretched between two trees – and unlawful possession of two shotguns. One shotgun is an exhibit in court, but the Crown has said the one allegedly used in the shootings has never been found.

Tully is represented in court by two amicus curiae (friends of the court), James Rapley and Phil Shamy. Andrew McRae and Mark Zarifeh represent the Crown.

Tully was not present in court when the charges were read but he was deemed to have entered not guilty pleas.

Neville Ngaiterangi Tahere, the Ashburton WINZ officer security officer, said he had contact with Tully before the shootings. He kept a daily log book which included details of Tully being trespassed from the office in early August.

On Friday August 29, Tully came in for an appointment in spite of the trespass order. Mr Tahere spoke to him at the door and he asked to speak to the case manager in charge that day. He explained to Tully about the trespass notice. He told Tully the case manager was ringing the police and Tully then left.

On September 1 he took his usual post at the kiosk near the front doors. Just before 10am he saw a man inside the office, but had not seen him come in. “He had a gun, and he aimed it deliberately and fired a shot.”

He shot at Peggy Noble, and then walked on towards the back of the building where he stopped, turned, and fired another shot with what he thought was a pump-action weapon.

A customer then said, “Come on, let’s go,” so he went with him and walked out the front doors.

[Afternoon update] WINZ staff member Kim Elizabeth Adams told the court she was working in the office when she heard a huge explosion. She then looked up and saw the gunman and then, “I felt a swish go past my face really close.”

She then ran to the cafetaria-community room to get out.

“I turned and looked back into the office, and I saw the gunman moving down the office firing,” she told the trial. She was not aware of where the other staff were. She heard a total of three or four gunshots.

The gunman was tall and had broad shoulders. He was wearing a black balaclava, a green top, and black pants, she said.

She said she was doing a lot of screaming as she ran from the building. “I was worried where I was going to run to. I wasn’t sure I could get anywhere safe.” She saw some of her clients in their car, and screamed at them to call the police. She ran to a medical centre.

Tully has been charged with attempting to murder her.

The trial is continuing.

 

Tags: Ashburton, attempted murder, murder, WINZ

Category: News