Martin Bryant

“	I'll do something that will make everyone remember me.	„
	~ Martin Bryant

Martin John Bryant (May 7th, 1967 - ) was the man responsible for the Port Arthur massacre, and with 35 people dead it is one of the worst mass shootings in history.

Martin Bryant was born with Asperger's syndrome, a condition which impairs his speech. He is described by teachers as distant from reality and showing inappopriate emotions. In his teens, Bryant was given an air gun by his parents for his birthday and he was amazed by it's power. He would often fire the gun at tourists and roam around at night, shooting dogs as they barked at him.

In 1987, Bryant met and befriended Helen Mary Elizabeth Harvey. He visited her regularly. In 1992, she was killed in a car crash and Bryant was severely injured and hospitalized. Her death resulted in Bryant inheriting her lottery money.

Not long after, his father Maurice committed suicide and with both Harvey and Maurice dead, Bryant became extremely lonely. Martin Bryant blamed the Martins (no relationship to Martin Bryant) for causing his father's suicide and described them as the worst people in his life.

In the weeks leading up to the massacre, Bryant began drinking more and became extremely angry as he thought that everyone was against him.

The massacre

On the morning of April 28 1996, Bryant woke up to an alarm clock, which is strange as he had no employment. He drove to Seascape, a guesthouse in which Bryant's father was to purchase and killed the Martins. After killing the Martins, he drove to Broad Arrow Café, ordered a meal and mumbled about wasps as it was a hot day. After finishing his meal, he walked inside the small-sized cafe. Once inside, he took out an AR-15 rifle and fired 13 shots from the hip in under 15 seconds, killing 12 people instantly.

He ran to a gift shop and killed 6 people. He then moved to the carpark, got to his vehicle and changed his weapon to the FN FAL. He killed 4 people in the carpark.

Bryant got on to his car and drove to the main road. At one point, a mother and 2 young girls kneeled down and pleaded for their lives, but Bryant shot them, killing the mother and a girl. The second girl ran at hid behind a tree, but Bryant came and pressed the barrel of his gun to her neck, firing and killing her instantly. After that he hijacked a BMW by killing its occupants and also killed another person in a Toyota. He locked the driver of the Toyota in the boot.

Bryant then drove back to the Seascape guest house, where he set in on fire after an 18 hour standoff with police. He was arrested and brought to the hospital with burns.

At the court, Bryant was eager to know if he had beaten Thomas Hamilton, the perpetrator of the Dunblane massacre. The judge sentenced Bryant to 1000 years in prison. While the judge was reading out his penalties, he laughed hysterically. Bryant tried to kill himself 6 times in prison, but failed. Many prisoners had also tried to kill him, too.

Fatalities

• Winifred Joyce Aplin, 58
• Walter John Bennett, 66
• Nicole Louise Burgess, 17
• Sou Leng Chung, 32
• Elva Rhonda Gaylard, 48
• Zoe Anne Hall, 28
• Elizabeth Jayne Howard, 26
• Mary Elizabeth Howard, 57
• Mervyn John Howard, 55
• Ronald Noel Jary, 71
• Tony Vadivelu Kistan, 51
• Leslie Dennis Lever, 53
• Sarah Kate Loughton, 15
• David Martin, 72
• Noelene Joyce Martin, 69
• Pauline Virjeana Masters, 49
• Alannah Louise Mikac, 6
• Madeline Grace Mikac, 3
• Nanette Patricia Mikac, 36
• Andrew Bruce Mills, 49
• Peter Brenton Nash, 32
• Gwenda Joan Neander, 67
• Moh Yee Willing Ng, 48
• Anthony Nightingale, 44
• Mary Rose Nixon, 60
• Glen Roy Pears, 35
• Russell James Pollard, 72
• Janette Kathleen Quin, 50
• Helene Maria Salzmann, 50
• Robert Graham Salzmann, 57
• Kate Elizabeth Scott, 21
• Kevin Vincent Sharp, 68
• Raymond John Sharp, 67
• Royce William Thompson, 59
• Jason Bernard Winter, 29

Media

• One of Bryant's victims
  One of Bryant's victims