Shots that took suspect to the wild side: [2 All-round First Edition 1]
Jonathan Porter, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 10 Nov 2005: 1.
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Abstract
Mr [Baladjam], now in a stable condition, became the latest of 17 terrorist suspects across Sydney and Melbourne to be charged, when magistrate Kevin Flack travelled to his bedside at Liverpool Hospital yesterday.
Other charges include four counts of assaulting police, with maximum five-year terms and four counts of possessing an unauthorised and prohibited firearm, which carry a maximum 14-year sentence. He was also charged under federal law with a terrorism- related offence, acting "in preparation or planning for a terrorist act".
A painter from the western Sydney suburb of West Hoxton, Mr Baladjam had eight years earlier been a bit-part actor in television programs Wildside and Home and Away.
THE shootout was as brief as it was violent. Just three or four gunshots. But it was long enough to leave alleged terrorist Omar Baladjam prone with a bullet to the neck and a NSW police officer shot in the hand.
Just moments before taking these graphic images of the shooting at 8.54am on Tuesday morning, Mark, a resident of Wilson Road, in the unremarkable suburb of Green Valley in Sydney's southwest, was taking a shower. A volley of shots rang out from across the street, and the father of two raced to the bedroom window, grabbing his digital camera.
Across the road he saw a policewoman with her gun pointed at a clearly wounded man, and another police officer whose hand had apparently been shot. Thebackpack that 28-year-old Mr Baladjam had been carrying lay nearby.
"She was training her gun on him and the other officers were there milling next to him," said Mark, who wished to be identified only by his first name.
"Within minutes, the police came from everywhere in bulletproof vests.
"They picked up his backpack and then chucked it away from him into the front yard of the closest house."
Mr Baladjam, now in a stable condition, became the latest of 17 terrorist suspects across Sydney and Melbourne to be charged, when magistrate Kevin Flack travelled to his bedside at Liverpool Hospital yesterday.
The father-of-three faces two counts of shooting with intent to murder, carrying a maximum life sentence; two counts of shooting with intent to inflict grievous bodily
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harm, carrying a maximum 20 years; and two counts of shooting a person with "intent to resist apprehension", carrying a 14-year maximum term.
Other charges include four counts of assaulting police, with maximum five-year terms and four counts of possessing an unauthorised and prohibited firearm, which carry a maximum 14-year sentence. He was also charged under federal law with a terrorism- related offence, acting "in preparation or planning for a terrorist act".
Mr Baladjam's lawyer Adam Houda, who is representing all the Sydney terror suspects, said: "All my clients want is a fair trial but that might be difficult under this current political climate -- trial by media and irresponsible public officials shooting from the lip."
A painter from the western Sydney suburb of West Hoxton, Mr Baladjam had eight years earlier been a bit-part actor in television programs Wildside and Home and Away.
The police assigned to pick him up during the terror swoop known as Operation Pendennis had missed him at his home, but pursued him by car to the nearby suburb of Green Valley.
Green Valley police were then summoned to assist, and on approaching him, were fired upon. Police allege witnesses saw him fire at least two shots at the four officers.
After the shooting, police cleared residents, including Mark, from the street and sent in a robot to scan the backpack. It discovered a second gun, but no explosives as initially feared.
Wildside producer Steve Knapman remembers Mr Baladjam as a polite young man who was a decent actor.
"He was fine, I don't remember anything bad about him at all, so it was a bit of a surprise when I heard about it," he said.
"He was quite good in the sense that he was very co-operative, he was very focused, he did everything we asked. He was quite excited about the whole opportunity.
"We used quite a lot of Lebanese and Muslim young people and never had any problems, they were always fine to work with."
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