MELBOURNE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Australia on Tuesday marked 30 years since 35 people were killed in the country's most deadly mass shooting in the island state of Tasmania.
Thirty-five people were killed and 23 more were injured when lone gunman Martin Bryant, who was armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a shotgun, opened fire on crowds in the tourist town of Port Arthur in southeast Tasmania on April 28, 1996.
The 30th anniversary of the massacre was marked with ceremonies in Port Arthur and the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, bringing together survivors, community members and first responders.
The Port Arthur massacre prompted the federal government of the time to introduce sweeping gun control laws that banned civilians from owning fully automatic firearms and heavily restricted the ownership of semi-automatic weapons. ■
