NSW: Man charged over siege on NSW mid-north coast
01 Jan 2009 6:44 AM
SYDNEY, Jan 1 AAP - A Sydney man has been charged with multiple offences and is due to face court on Thursday following a siege lasting almost 13 hours on the NSW mid-north coast.
The siege at a property in the coastal hamlet of Stuarts Point ended peacefully on Wednesday, with the 41-year-old gunman surrendering to police and handing over the last of his five hostages, an eight-year-old boy.
Prior to the incident, the gunman had been pursued by police at around 5.30am (AEDT) on Wednesday to Stuarts Point Road, north of Kempsey, shooting at officers before barricading himself inside the house with the boy.
Dozens of police swarmed around the house during the tense operation, which saw officers forming a 2km exclusion zone around the property.
A total of four people - two men and two women - emerged from the property unharmed between 8.45am (AEDT) and 11.50am (AEDT), but the stalemate with the gunman stretched late into the afternoon.
Just after 6pm he surrendered to officers, and handed over the eight-year-old boy.
No one was injured during the siege in the house, which neighbours said was home to a couple and their two children.
The boy was taken into police care and later returned to family members, police said.
The man from Eagle Vale, in Sydney's south-western suburbs, was taken to Kempsey police station where he was refused bail early on Thursday morning.
He is due to appear in Port Macquarie Bail Court on Thursday morning charged with numerous offences, including firing a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, and possessing a firearm without authority and dangerous driving.
Police have not released the identities of the hostages.
They have also not disclosed the relationship between the man and eight-year-old boy, nor if the gunman knew the occupants of the Stuarts Point property.
