Perth killer had cyst on his brain, health worker says

“At the end of the day, this person, looking at his current state of health, had a very compromised and vulnerable brain,” the health worker said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the health professional said Mark Bombara’s family had raised concerns about his escalating behaviour.

“Hospital staff also noticed on the ward that he was irritable and agitated and not displaying the normal behavior you would see on the ward,” they said.

They also revealed that medical staff had recommended that the 63-year-old’s driving license be suspended on medical grounds.

The health worker also called for better information sharing between government agencies about gun ownership, saying health professionals should also be able to make recommendations to suspend a person’s firearms license when they have concerns.

“We don’t know if someone has 13 guns at home, no one is telling us that,” they said.

“Only if someone offers that information can we actually take it into our assessment.”

“If we can go back to mandatory reporting for driving a car, we should include mandatory reporting for medical examinations for gun permits and gun ownership.

“It’s absolutely common sense.”

The WA Deputy Premier said the Government was working on building systems to make this possible.

“Our gun reform is looking forward to how we can better share information between health and police agencies, so we’re building systems for much better information sharing,” said Rita Saffiotti.

The Northern Metropolitan Health Service confirmed it had treated Bombara just weeks before the shooting.

“Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital treated Mr Bombara in early May for a series of small strokes,” it said in a statement.

“While in our care … there were no signs of reduced mental capacity, aggression or suicidal risk.”

The health worker said it’s not just mental health that affects decision-making or risk.

“Our actual health can also affect risk,” they said.

“The gun reforms currently being debated are an important step, but it is my unshakable belief that even without his guns, my father would have committed a horrific act of violence that would likely have claimed lives,” she said in Tuesday.

All who have spoken out are doing so in hopes of helping change the system.