A gunman shot dead a security guard at an abortion clinic in Melbourne today, police said.
The alleged gunman was arrested and his weapon seized after he was restrained by two men in the waiting room.
Chief Det Insp Brian Rix said there were 30 people in the clinic when the gunman entered and the action of the two men "would have quite easily avoided a massacre".
The victim, who was not immediately identified, worked for a security firm hired by the clinic to protect it from protesters who routinely gather outside it.
Mr Rix said there had been protesters outside the front of the clinic at the time of the shooting.
The guard was armed, but he did not have a chance to pull his gun.
A spokeswoman at the clinic, the first in Melbourne to offer abortions and pregnancy advice when it opened in 1972, refused to comment.
Police said the gunman had been taken into custody but they had been unable to establish his identity or a motive for the shooting.
AFP