Lebanese Man Killed in Australia Shooting

Lebanese citizen Hassan Baydoun, 33, has been killed in a shooting rampage in the Australian city of Darwin, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

Baydoun, who worked as a taxi driver after graduating recently from university, was the shooter’s first victim, NNA said. Three other people were killed in the spree.

Baydoun’s employer said he was having a food break when he was shot, expressing its grief over an employee who had an excellent record.

Police said the 45-year-old gunman, who local media identified as Ben Hoffman, was an ex-convict wearing a monitoring bracelet.

He was armed with an illegal pump-action shotgun and was hunting for a specific person during the rampage in Darwin on Tuesday evening, police added.

He was released from prison in January, and reportedly had had repeated brushes with the law.

Police said they were investigating possible links to outlaw motorcycle gangs and drug-related grudges.

The motive for the attack remains unknown, but police said it was not terror-related and that the gunman was "looking for one individual."

They said they had since spoken to that person, who was in another Australian state at the time of the shooting.

Witnesses recalled harrowing scenes from Tuesday as a man moved from room to room in a local motel, opening fire on occupants.

"He shot up all the rooms, and he went to every room looking for somebody and he shot them all up, then we saw him rush out, jump into his Toyota pick-up, and rush off," witness John Rose told ABC, the national broadcaster.

Dramatic footage of the arrest shown by the ABC showed the suspect flailing on the ground as he was tasered by heavily armed police. Police said he remained in hospital Wednesday due to injuries suffered during his arrest.