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Hmm... you all might have heard the news. but I will just post it up.

Source: Straits Times, Accessed 18/06/07

Police hunt Melbourne gunman: one killed, two injured in shooting spree

Police instructed office workers to remain in their buildings as a manhunt was launched across the city, with roads and buildings locked down and police helicopters circling overhead. PHOTO: AFP

MELBOURNE - A MAN dragged a woman from a taxi by the hair and opened fire with a handgun when three people came to her aid, killing one person and wounding two in the Australian city of Melbourne, police and witnesses said.

Police were hunting the gunman who fled on foot after the morning rush hour shooting on Monday.

'There is a large police operation underway in the Melbourne CBD (central business district) as we speak to try and apprehend the offender,' Inspector Glenn Weir said, as heavily armed police in body armour sealed off the centre of the country's second-largest city.

'It certainly appears as though there was some verbal confrontation prior to the shooting between the male and the female, so it appears as though there was some relationship between those two people,' Insp Weir said.

The shooting on the corner of Flinders and William Streets in Melbourne's business district, was close to the stock exchange and the city's tallest building, Rialto Towers and sent panicked office workers and commuters fleeing.

'The lady got away and he turned and shot three people basically point blank,' witness Malcolm Bates told local media.

The two wounded samaritans were rushed to hospital in a critical condition, while the other man died at the scene while paramedics treated him.

'Some people crossing tried to intervene and came between the woman and the man. The man pulled out a gun, shot three people, and just casually walked off,' an unnamed bystander told Sky News Australia.

Police instructed office workers to remain in their buildings as a manhunt was launched across the city, with roads and buildings locked down and police helicopters circling overhead.

Police began escorting workers back into offices around 10am after recovering a handgun and denim jacket, suspected of belonging to the gunman, in a city construction site.

The shooting also occurred close to a strip of nightclubs.

Witnesses said the gunman and the woman were seen leaving one nightspot around 8am, police said.

'The altercation took place between a male and female at the scene. As a result she has been assaulted and received injuries to the face,' Insp Weir said.

Police homicide detectives were interviewing workers at the club, as well as passers-by who witnessed the shooting. -- REUTERS