Wade Frankum

Case identification

Wade Frankum

STATUS

Committed suicide by shooting himself the same day; in 1991 Wade Frankum killed seven people by spraying his Chinese assault rifle in a suburban shopping mall in Strathfield, Australia, and then killed himself.

Timeline

• August 17, 1991 — Wade Frankum killed seven people at Strathfield Plaza in Sydney, Australia, then killed himself.
• Around 1:00PM (August 17, 1991) — Frankum went to the Strathfield Plaza shopping mall and sat in a cafe called The Coffee Pot, where he drank a number of cups of coffee.
• At approximately 3.30pm (August 17, 1991) — Frankum stabbed two teenage girls who were sitting next to him, killing one and badly injuring the other, then shot people around the cafe.
• 10 minutes (August 17, 1991) — The spree lasted about 10 minutes.
• After police began to arrive (August 17, 1991) — Hearing approaching sirens, Frankum apologised to a woman, got out of the car, knelt on the ground, and shot himself in the head.

The offence

Wade Frankum carried out a shooting rampage in a shopping centre in Strathfield, Australia.

At around 1:00PM, 33-year-old Frankum went to Strathfield Plaza, a shopping mall, and sat in a cafe called The Coffee Pot, where he drank a number of cups of coffee.

At approximately 3.30pm, without provocation, Frankum pulled a large knife from an army surplus duffel bag and started stabbing two teenage girls who were sitting next to him, killing one and badly injuring the other. Leaving the knife in the body of his first victims, he proceeded to pulling an assault rifle out of his duffel bag and shooting around the cafe, killing several more people. He then shot the cafe's owner dead and fled into the main area of the mall, where he killed his last victim.

After the killings, Frankum ran into the car park and held a car owner at gunpoint, demanding that the person take him to Enfield, a nearby suburb. Before the woman could start the car, the police began to arrive on the scene. Hearing the approaching sirens, Frankum apologised to the woman, got out of the car, knelt on the ground, and shot himself in the head.

The spree had lasted 10 minutes. Frankum killed seven people and injured six; none of them were personally known to him.

Victims

Frankum killed seven people. The victims named were:

• Roberta Armstrong Robertson
• Kan Hock Joon
• Patricia Rowe
• Carole Dickson
• Joyce Nixon
• Rachell Milburn
• George Mavis

In other narrative details, Roberta Armstrong was identified as a 15-year-old girl who was stabbed and died. The other stabbed teenage girl was badly injured.

Weapons and method

Frankum used:

• a machete/large knife
• an assault rifle described as an automatic rifle and as a Chinese/Chinese assault rifle
• a SKS self-loading assault rifle
• an AK-47 described as a Soviet-designed AK-47 (reported)

Police found 50 cartridges after the assault.

Investigation

Police found a large collection of violent literature and video copies of violent films in the apartment where Frankum lived alone.

One of the books was described as a well-thumbed copy of American Psycho. Suggestions were made in newspapers that the novel had inspired Frankum.

The article also stated that American Psycho had been condemned as misogynistic because it features many gruesome murders of women, and that some thought it significant that five of the seven people Frankum killed were women.

Frankum was also said to have possessed a copy of The Female Eunuch by feminist author Germaine Greer, contradicting the American Psycho theory.

Another book reported to have been read was Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

In a coroner’s summing-up, there was anecdotal evidence suggesting Frankum’s viewing of pornography was a contributing factor to the massacre.

A forensic psychiatrist assigned to put together a profile refused to reveal the contents of scribbled notes found in the killer’s flat hours after the massacre. The psychiatrist said the notes indicated a guarded personality and that “there was obviously a lot of unhappiness in his life.” The psychiatrist also said: “People reveal bits of themselves in all sorts of ways ... by what they write and what they say and how they impress people,” and added: “The scribblings are quite useful. But this chap seems to have revealed so little of himself ... there was obviously a lot of unhappiness in his life.” The psychiatrist said: “There isn't a lot of difference between killing himself and killing others,” and: “Suicide from grief is not uncommon.”

Police admitted four days after the massacre that they had gleaned little about his lifestyle or personality beyond that he was a loner with few friends.

Arrest / police response

Police began arriving on the scene while Frankum was in the car park holding a car owner at gunpoint.

Sergeant Roger Wigley was first on the scene and found a 15-year-old girl lying face down in the coffee shop with the gunman’s machete still in her back. Sergeant Wigley stated: “I have never seen anything like it in my life, in the 26 years I've been doing this job. It's unbelievable,” and: “There was blood and spent shells everywhere.”

Detective Superintendent Peter Wick said Frankum had no criminal record and it was uncertain if he had ever undergone psychiatric treatment.

Trial

No trial information was provided.

Sentencing

No sentencing information was provided.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Wade Frankum killed seven people and injured six in a shooting rampage at Strathfield Plaza in Sydney, Australia, on August 17, 1991. Frankum committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at the end of the incident.

Aftermath

The massacre bought up the issue of gun control in Australia, as did the Port Arthur Massacre perpetrated by Martin Bryant five years later.

A scholarship named the Roberta Armstrong Award was said to be given by Mrs Armstrong’s family, paying tuition for a whole year to one student gifted in ballet and music. Mrs Armstrong presents the award each speech night.

A witness described the incident as happening quickly. Diane Roberts said later: “It all happened too quickly, the whole thing was like something you see on television.” and “I couldn't go anywhere or duck for cover, I just froze.”

Mr Gregory Read, a Vietnam War veteran, said he ran through the centre yelling at shoppers to “hit the deck.” He stated: “The shots started coming towards me, I was in front of him by six metres. I could hear all the shots,” and: “I could see he was running to get out of the building. I reached the carpark first and told a couple to hit the deck. I dived under the car and that's how I got shot in the feet. Looking over the barrel of his gun, I guess you could say I had eye contact with him.” Mr Read said: “I just acted on the spur of the moment.”

When hearing the approaching sirens, Frankum apologised to the woman and then got out of the car, knelt on the ground and shot himself. In another account, Frankum’s last words were recorded as: “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry” while sobbing.

Other details

Frankum lived alone. Police found violent literature and video copies of violent films in his apartment.

It was stated that Frankum had been released from a mental institution and prescribed psychiatric drugs, notably Prozac, with known rage-state side effects, and that he was a user of prostitution businesses and pornography, with spending in excess of $5,000 the week before the massacre.

Other narrative details stated that Frankum had a steady working history up until about a year before his death, when he gave up a job as a shop manager in Bondi and began working as a casual taxi driver.

Frankum’s father had died some years earlier, and his mother had gassed herself 12 months before in the family car. It was stated that Frankum had moved into the North Strathfield unit which he shared with his younger sister Gaynor, aged in her early 20s.

Neighbours described Frankum as a loner, friendly but quiet, spending most of his day alone at home and going out to buy milk or cigarettes and to drive his taxi.

A coroner was quoted: “Guns and porn make a lethal mix.”

A warning quoted as being said by Frankum on August 17, 1991 was: “You'd better go home”, said Frankum to a man inside the ticket office. Another quotation attributed to Frankum at the railway station was: “You had better go home, Clive.”

One witness described Frankum during the shooting: “He was just calmly standing,” and: “Fired the first round, another two or three rounds, and then just turned around calmly and pointed the gun into the kitchen -- bang -- and then continued.”

Frankum flagged down a motorist in the car park, asked to be let out of the car, uttered his last words, then shot himself.

Newspaper commentary included Kevin Waller, who said: “I find it impossible to justify their [the Strathfield massacre victims'] suffering in terms of an individual's right to read books and watch films and videos of gross cruelty.”

A question attributed to the same commentary was: “I share Mr Waller's concern, but did he notice the other book found in Wade Frankum's bedroom?”

The same commentary asked: “Is it possible that this great work of literature could have helped Frankum along the path to murder?”

The incident was described as prompting calls for tougher gun laws and as the fifth major shooting tragedy in Australia in the past four years.