THE gunman who killed 32 people yesterday in one of the world's worst shooting rampages was arrested following a siege at a guesthouse where he had been holding hostages in the Australian island state, Tasmania, last night.
A police spokesman in Hobart, the island's capital, said: "I can confirm that at 8.40 a.m. [local time] the gunman was apprehended by police. He has partial burns and police are searching the guesthouse for hostages."
The gunman, a 29 year old local man, whom police say has a history of mental illness, was sheltering at the Seascape guesthouse after killing 32 people yesterday at the historic Port Arthur penal settlement.
The guesthouse was set ablaze after shots were heard from the building shortly before his arrest. Unconfirmed reports suggest the hostages may be dead.
Police believe the hostages were an elderly couple surnamed Martin, who own the Seascape holiday guesthouse five kilometres from the Port Arthur site where the massacre happened.
The third hostage was seized from a service station in a car commandeered by the gunman. Of the 19 people injured in the shootings, four remain critical in Royal Hobart Hospital, but the gunman set ablaze several buildings and cars and police fear more victims may be found.
Two Malaysians and another Asian, whose nationality is not yet known, were among the dead who were aged from three to 72 years. Eight were local people, 12 probably came from Victoria, four from New South Wales, one from South Australia and it is not yet known where the other four came from.
One of the victims identified as a local person was Jason Winter, a 29 year old New Zealander living in Tasmania, who was reportedly shot dead as he shielded his wife and infant son as the gunman opened fire in the Port Arthur restaurant.
Twenty of the victims were killed in the cafe at the complex, further victims were shot in a bus outside, others at the toll gate and a local woman were killed on the forecourt of a nearby service station from which the hostage was seized.
"He has been undertaking medical treatment for some problems that he has had," Tasmania's assistant police commissioner, Mr Luppo Prinz, said.
Mr Prinz said it was possible that a personal dispute had sparked off the shooting spree, but police had been unable to make much sense of comments by the gunman.
The man went on a rampage in the early afternoon after chatting with tourists, first shooting indiscriminately in a cafe, then in a car park and later in a hotel.
After opening fire in the car park, the gunman walked towards the site's toll gate, firing as he went, before driving to the nearby Fox and Hounds Hotel where he continued shooting.
"He left the site shooting as he went, shooting everybody he could see, said Ms Wendy Scurr, an employee at the tourist centre.
She said she telephoned for help and then "ran for my life along with hundreds of other people at the site".
The massacre, the worst in Australian history, sent shock waves through the country, with demands for tighter control of gun ownership.
The federal Attorney General and Justice Minister, Mr Daryl Williams, said he would now press for changes to Australia's gun laws.