CW: Domestic violence
Western Australia Police is investigating claims it failed to address safety concerns about a Perth man before he shot and killed two women last week.
59-year-old Jenny Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl were shot in their home on Friday. A 63-year-old man died by suicide at the house.
It’s believed the man, a licensed gun owner, was looking for his ex-partner at the time of the incident.
The shooter’s daughter, Ariel Bombara, says she alerted police to her father’s dangerous behaviour multiple times prior to the incident.
Perth murders
Jenny Petelczyc died in her home in the Perth suburb of Floreat on Friday.
Her daughter Gretl later died in hospital.
The incident came nearly two months after the shooter’s wife and daughter “fled” their family home “in fear of our lives and to remove ourselves from an abusive situation”, according to a statement from Ariel.
Ariel Bombara
Ariel said she spoke to police on three occasions to “raise the alarm” about her father. She said she had told police she and her mother feared for their lives and flagged concern about her father’s access to guns.
Her statement said she applied for a temporary protective order against her father, but that police rejected her request.
Ariel alleges she and her mother were “repeatedly ignored” and “failed” by WA police, and that further actions could have prevented the murders of the Petelczycs.
“We were ignored by five different male officers across three occasions of reporting. By that point we felt completely helpless and I had to focus on getting mum to safety. I did everything I could to protect my mother, and when my father couldn’t find us he murdered her best friend and her best friend’s daughter.”
Perth murders investigation
WA Police’s Internal Investigations Unit has launched an investigation in response to Bombara’s claims.
It will focus on the three interactions between police and Ariel and the response that followed.
In a press conference on Tuesday, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the investigation will help “improve how we police going forward”.
Firearm laws
In February, the WA Government proposed what it said would be the toughest gun legislation in the country.
Its draft reforms included limiting the number of guns a person can own, imposing stricter licensing requirements, and introducing mandatory health checks for gun owners.
The WA Government has announced a review of the draft legislation to address concerns raised after Friday’s shooting.
WA Police Minister Paul Papalia emphasised the importance of expanding police’s ability to issue protective orders, particularly in situations involving firearms.
He described current laws as “inadequate”.
Papalia said the shooter would’ve had fewer firearms if the draft law had been passed already. The proposed legislation would also ban domestic violence offenders from holding a firearm.
Federal response
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth told the ABC that it “seems that [Ariel Bombara] didn’t get the response she needed from police”.
She described WA Police’s investigation as “important”.
An independent panel commissioned by the Federal Government met this week to identify best-practice prevention strategies to combat violence against women and children.
The panel will submit its findings to the Government later this year.
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