The 1993 Perth tank rampage refers to an event in the early hours of 27 April 1993, when 27-year-old Gary Alan Hayes stole an

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

(APC)referred to in the media as a "

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

"from

Irwin Barracks Irwin Barracks is an Australian Army military base located in , a suburb of , Western Australia. It occupies a site on the western side of the Fremantle railway line. It was previously known as Karrakatta Camp and Irwin Training Centre. His ...

and drove it through the

Perth CBD Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...

, ramming police targets and government buildings. It is the first of only two events of this kind in Australia, the second happening in Sydney in 2007.

Background and rampage

Hayes had a history of mental health issues, and previous encounters with the police over criminal behaviour, including charges of breaking and entering a

delicatessen A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...

in 1987, stealing , equivalent to in , worth of counter-terrorist equipment from the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, ...

barracks in November 1992, and illegal possession of a firearm in April 1993. In 1987 he was forcibly admitted to the maximum-security wing of Graylands Hospital due to paranoid

delusion A delusion is a fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some other m ...

s, and treated for

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. On the morning of 27 April, Hayes stole an Australian Army M113 APC (without ammunition) from

. Some reports have alleged police abuse and harassment as the motive for his behaviour. Hayes drove the APC through a fence and into the side of the

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

police station at 4:40am. He then rammed a police van and drove towards the police headquarters in the CBD, where he smashed through the security gates and rammed six police vehicles, a motorcycle, and several private vehicles. He then caused damage to the CIB building before circling

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

, where police negotiators failed in efforts to get him to surrender. Three special forces officers climbed onto the vehicle and dropped a tear gas canister into it, after which he was arrested following a struggle. Media at the time commented on his use of turning indicators and stopping at a red traffic signal.

Aftermath

The media coverage treated the event as a surreal and somewhat humorous event. When queried as to the ease with which the vehicle had been stolen, Brigadier Terry Nolan stated that "If you'd have asked me this yesterday I would have said it's not easy to do it, but the evidence of this morning would indicate that it's perhaps easier than I would have thought." In court Hayes claimed his actions were retaliation against the police for three attempts to kill him. His defence was later rejected and he was sentenced to four and a half years in

Casuarina Prison Casuarina Prison is the main maximum-security prison for Western Australia, located in the Perth, Western Australia suburb of Casuarina. The prison accommodates minimum-, medium- and maximum-security prisoners. It was opened in 1991 to replace ...

with the possibility of parole after 17 months. He was diagnosed with

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...

. Hayes died in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perth tank rampage, 1993 1993 crimes in Australia Tank rampage, 1993 Tank rampage, 1993 Vehicle-ramming attacks in Oceania 1990s vehicle-ramming attacks 1993 road incidents Attacks on police stations in Australia Attacks on police stations in the 1990s Attacks on buildings and structures in 1993 Robberies of armored vehicles Robberies in Australia Motor vehicle theft