Colt AR-15 Carbine

Main weapon police say was used in the Port Arthur Massacre

What Happened

Martin Bryant killed 35 people at the Port Arthur historical complex with an AR-15. Next he fled to the Seascape cottage, and was involved in a 18 hr standoff. In the morning he set the place on fire, and surrendered.

Martin Bryant was severally mentally challenged. He was tested by Dr Ian Joblin for Tasmania prosecution, and found to have an IQ of 66.

Bryant Wrecks His Gun

Bryant sticks a 'Hot Load' into his AR-15, which blows up the barrel, bolt, firing pin, extractor, riflings.

This is often used when professionals want to destroy ballistic evidence.

Why would Bryant, who had an IQ of 66, destroy the evidence?

Hot Load Is A Demolition Round

Basically you take an empty cartridge, take a hotter powder, and fill it to the brim. The cartridge is too much for the gun,  it explodes, and wrecks the mechanisms.

A Gunsmith Asks Questions

Stewart Beattie, Australian investigator on Port Arthur, holds that this gun was destroyed so ballistics couldn't tie it to the one used in the shootings. He won't accept that Bryant was the shooter.

Beattie, and fellow investigators Andrew MacGregor and Wendy Scurr (eye witness), were also suspicious on Joe Vialls.

Witnesses Question Rifle

All the witnesses identified the gun as a  AR-15 rifle, the long version,  not the carbine (short version).

The gun found at the Seascape cottage was a carbine and had been destroyed by a special demolition round, the gun was never forensically linked to Broad Arrow, Bus Park, or Jetty Road crime scenes.

Tasmanian Ballistic Expert

Sergeant Dutton contends: ~ "It was bad Norinco Ammunition"

A year before the shooting Dutton left a high paid job in Sydney, Australian to go to a poor paying, dead end career in remote Hobart, Tasmania.

 

What's It All Mean?

Beattie, and a growing legion, contend the Port Arthur Massacre was a staged event for the purpose of gun control. He says: ~ "This was a Demolition Charge, not a faulty round. It was a deliberate action that destroys another link between Bryant and the shooting."