Man Stabbed Brother For Being Gay Before Going On Killing Rampage
An Australian man who intentionally drove into a crowd in Melbourne on Friday reportedly first stabbed his brother for being gay.
Dimitrious James "Jimmy" Gargasoulas, 26, killed five people and injured 20 more when he plowed into pedestrians outside the Bourke Street Mall.
But before his rampage, Gargasoulas reportedly fought with his younger brother, Angelo, about his sexuality and stabbed him in the face.
"Jimmy keeps saying to me, I’m going to kill all gays and poofters and lesbians,” their mother, Emily, told News.com
“He’s not the Jimmy I used to know from years back. I don’t want to be known that I’m the mother.”
Gargasoulas then took his pregnant girlfriend, Akiir Muo, hostage and drove from his home in New South Wales to Melbourne. “He kept saying ‘I can’t let you out of my sight," Muo explained. "'If you don’t come with me I’m going to kill you.’”
Once in in the city, he made his way to Bourke Street, where he tore through the crowded strip. "There was no hesitation," a witness reported. "He just mowed them down."
The attack was precipitated by threatening messages posted on Facebook. "I declare war on tyranny today," he wrote on Monday. "You dogs will have the option to either believe in me and his positive energy he offers and stay faithful to me, or serve the one who enslaves you at his feet."
On Wednesday night, Gargasoulas attacked a neighbor, Gavin Wilson. He set a Bible on fire and threw it in Wilson's face and punched him. He then stole Wilson's car.
Then on Friday morning, he attacked his brother.
"Jimmy never accepted gay people, he was a very homophobic person," said a friend of Angelo, who is in critical condition.
The following day, police confirmed that a 3-month-old baby had passed away, the fifth fatality in the murderous attack.
Gargasoulas—who has a history of drug abuse, violence and mental health problems—is not known to be connected to any terrorist cell. He remains under guard in the hospital after being shot by police during his apprehension.