38: The Bourke Street Massacre, Part 01
Obscura: A True Crime Podcast
Justin Drown
4.6 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 1 September 2021
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
(Part 1) On 20 January 2017, office workers and tourists were among the throngs of people making their way through Bourke Street Mall amidst the lunch hour hustle and bustle of the Melbourne CBD. But the sunny summer’s day was rudely disrupted by the sound of tires skidding and police sirens blaring. In less than a minute, 27 year old James Gargasoulas had driven along the footpath multiple blocks of Bourke Street, wreaking havoc and creating a terror amongst Melbourne citizens, the fallout of which lingers today. During his rampage, James killed six people, including a three month old baby, and injured many more. But this wasn’t the most shocking aspect of what occurred. James was a repeat violent offender, and was on bail when he ploughed through the city crowds. The cascade of events culminating in what can only be described as utter carnage, led to painful questions. How safe was the Melbourne public in the course of going about their business? And how could they trust that those tasked with keeping them safe - the police - could protect them and their city when it mattered?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Oh, I didn't see you there. |
| 0:10.3 | You frightened me. |
| 0:13.1 | Just in as busy getting the fire started. |
| 0:15.7 | So I'm keeping the mic warm. |
| 0:17.6 | I'm Shane Waters. |
| 0:18.9 | It's a pleasure to meet you. |
| 0:21.2 | Before Justin gets back, you wanted to tell you that if you enjoyed this new season |
| 0:25.7 | of Obscura, but you'd like extra content that is a bit darker than listen up. |
| 0:34.0 | We are releasing Black Label episodes each month exclusively to those who support the podcast |
| 0:39.4 | on Patreon. |
| 0:40.7 | For this entire month if you sign up, you'll be entered for a chance to win one of the |
| 0:44.7 | crime tumblers we made by hand that feature newspaper clippings of some of the most infamous |
| 0:50.3 | serial killers being caught. |
| 0:52.6 | To join, just go to ObscuraCrimpodcast.com and click Black Label in the menu. |
| 0:58.7 | The link is also in the show notes. |
| 1:00.7 | Oh, it looks like Justin just got the fire gun. |
| 1:03.9 | I'll turn this over to him. |
| 1:10.2 | Welcome listener, I'm glad you're here. |
| 1:13.7 | Take a seat next to the fire. |
| 1:42.2 | Thank you. |
| 2:12.2 | At the heart of the bustling CBD of Melbourne, Australia is Berkstreet. |
| 2:19.9 | By sifting the city, Berkstreet runs from Spring Street in the east towards Southern |
... |
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