Police took over a minute to answer Floreat murder victim's calls
Police took 1 minute 20 seconds to answer Gretl's first call, and delays continued as gunshots rang out.
An inquest has heard that Gretl, 18, called triple-zero around 4:30pm on May 24 as Mark Bombara entered her home with a gun. The operator tried to put the call through to WA Police Assistance Centre, but it was not answered for 1 minute and 20 seconds before the call dropped.
Ariel also called triple-zero about five seconds later; police took nearly a minute to answer that call too. Gretl called a third time and whispered "there is a guy with a gun in my house", but police took 1 minute and 5 seconds to answer.
A scream and gunshots were heard on that third call before it disconnected. Five gunshots were fired in total.
Both women were killed.
- 1 minute 20 seconds on first call
- Response delay
- Floreat, Perth
- Location
- 13 handguns
- Legally owned guns
- Gretl, 18; Jennifer, 59
- Deaths
Why it mattersThe delayed response to triple-zero calls during an active threat raises serious questions about emergency services capacity and whether faster police arrival might have prevented the deaths.
AustraliaIn Perth, the inquest is examining failures in police emergency response that allowed a man with known threats and legal firearm access to carry out killings despite multiple calls for help.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
