Police insisted security was sound at Australia’s largest airport today after a man was beaten to death during a fight by rival biker gangs in a busy terminal.
Four men were charged over the violence at Sydney airport as terrified passengers watched .
State authorities were today considering introducing tougher laws against biker gangs, amid fears of an escalating gag war that has included drive-by shootings and an explosion outside a fortified Hell’s Angel’s clubhouse.
The fight started in one of Sydney airport’s two domestic terminals when a group of gang members was ambushed by another from a rival gang as they got off a flight.
Witnesses to the fighting said it was brutal.
“They came running through picking up the big metal barrier poles and swinging them like swords at each other,” Naomi Constantine said. “I saw one of the men lying on the ground and another man came up with a pol and just started smashing it into his head.”
Police said 15 men were involved in the violence, which moved from the ground floor up one level to the departures hall before most of the men fled.
The four suspects were arrested away from the airport.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty admitted the violence took them by surprise but said police officers responded quickly to emergency phone calls. “The police can’t be everywhere all the time and this is an event that could have happened anywhere in Australia,” he said.
Police have not identified the gangs suspected in the violence.
AP