Martin Bryant | |
---|---|
Born |
Martin John Bryant 7 May 1967 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
Criminal penalty | 35 life sentences + 1,035 years without parole |
Killings | |
Date | 28–29 April 1996 |
Location(s) | Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia |
Killed | 35 |
Injured | 23 |
Weapons |
Colt AR-15 SP1 Carbine, L1A1 SLR |
Martin John Bryant (born 7 May 1967) is an Australian mass murderer who pleaded guilty to murdering 35 people and injuring 23 others in the Port Arthur massacre, a shooting spree in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, in 1996. He is currently serving 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole in Risdon Prison.
Martin Bryant was born on 7 May 1967 at the Queen Alexandria Hospital in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He was the first son born to Maurice and Carleen Bryant. Although the family home was in Lenah Valley, Tasmania, Bryant spent some of his childhood at their beach home in Carnarvon Bay, Tasmania. In a 2011 interview, his mother recalls that she would often find his toys broken at a very young age, and said he was an "annoying" and "different" child. A psychologist's view was that he would never hold down a job as he would aggravate people to such an extent that he would always be in trouble.
Other cases that locals can recall include that he had pulled the snorkel from another boy while diving and had once cut down trees on a neighbour's property. He was described by teachers as being distant from reality and unemotional. At school he was a disruptive and sometimes violent child who suffered severe bullying by other children. After he was suspended from New Town Primary School in 1977, psychological assessments of Bryant noted his torturing of animals. He returned to school the following year with improved behaviour; however, he persisted in teasing younger children. He was transferred to a special education unit at New Town High School in 1980 where he deteriorated both academically and in behaviour throughout his remaining school years.