Cyril Peel says concerns about ‘aggressive behaviour’ at firing range dismissed but group says he is a ‘disgruntled’ member

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

An official from Australia’s largest gun group who was suspended after raising safety concerns at a Sydney firing range says it is “only a matter of time” until there is another mass shooting.

But the group says he is a “disgruntled member” and that the matter is being investigated.

Cyril Peel, a long-standing range officer from the Sydney branch of the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia, was stood down by the organisation in May over what he says was his decision to raise concerns about the “aggressive” behaviour of another gun club member at a firing range.

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Peel and other members of the SSAA were conducting a “try shoot” session – where prospective shooters are introduced to the sport – at the Anzac rifle range in Malabar, when a member of another gun club allegedly went on an “abusive tirade” and showed “aggression, bad language and anger” towards another shooter.

Five days after the incident Peel, who witnessed the event, filed a report that he sent to senior officials at the Sydney branch of the association.

In an email seen by Guardian Australia he wrote that the incident left onlookers “shocked and dismayed” and recommended the aggressor be told to apologise and undergo an anger management course.

The SSAA declined numerous requests for comment from the Guardian. However following publication they released a statement labelling the dispute a “misunderstanding” and stating the dispute had been resolved.

It said Peel’s complaint to the NSW Police was investigated and the SSAA had been advised no criminal offence had been committed, nor had any safety issues on the range been identified.

But Peel says his concerns were dismissed by the club, who instead suspended his membership and informed him he was no longer welcome at SSAA firing ranges.

Under SSAA rules, range officers are responsible for making sure firing ranges are run safely and are required to “be alert to any forms of abuse directed towards members and visitors”.

The SSAA’s training manual for range officers says they have “total control over range activities” and “act as a representative of the SSAA branch controlling the range at all times”.

But in an internal email seen by the Guardian, James Walsh, the president of the Sydney branch of the SSAA, told Peel range officers did not have “any authority to approach” people on a firearms range and reprimanded him for “continuing to push” the incident.

“[This] is a Sydney branch matter and does not require your input,” Walsh wrote. “As [a range officer] you DO NOT represent the branch, nor do you have any authority to approach anyone on behalf of the branch. If you have an issue, you are to approach the range manager, ranger coordinator or committee. I appreciate you felt you were looking out for [the target of the outburst], however it is not for you to approach any range users.”

But in a statement sent to the Guardian following publication, the SSAA said the email had been intended to tell Peel “that he was not to approach shooters from other clubs on the range regarding matters relevant to the committee of the branch as he was not a branch official.

“Sporting Shooters Association of Australia … would never tell a range officer not to approach a SSAA Range user where an issue of range safety was involved,” the statement read.

Firearms groups are still grappling with the fallout from the shooting murder of two teenagers by their father, John Edwards, last month.

After the tragedy it was revealed that Edwards obtained the guns he used to shoot his two children after obtaining a commissioner’s permit from the NSW Firearms Registry and joining the SSAA-owned St Marys club in western Sydney.

St Marys and Malabar are both part of the Sydney branch of the SSAA, which also uses ranges at Hornsby, Holroyd and Silverdale.

The registry has since been warning clubs to be vigilant about reporting new members who seem overly keen to get their hands on a gun or show signs of mental illness.

Peel said he feared it would be “only a matter of time” until another shooting occurred if range officers were not confident about enforcing range rules.

“It’s a safety issue for us,” he told Guardian Australia. “You can’t have people acting aggressively on a firing range and no one being able to do anything about it.

“The question is, what rules do we work by? The SSAA’s official rules or the James Walsh rules, which are contradictory?”

Another Sydney SSAA range officer who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity said Walsh’s email had “spread like wildfire” to range officers across the state and said that many officers no longer felt comfortable doing their job.

“The job is really difficult but it’s important,” he said. “[It] means identifying people who you don’t feel good about being on the range and getting them off in a non-confrontational way. Sometimes you might not want someone on a range because they look like they’ve been drinking or they’re off their tree, but a lot of the time it’s just a bad feeling. You use your discretion.

“But I know now that a lot of ROs don’t even want to show up to the range. How are we supposed to do the job if we don’t have any authority and we’re not allowed to approach people?”

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An email notifying Peel of his suspension did not state why he had been stood down, but he told the Guardian he had been accused of “inciting” the incident – a claim he denied, as did another witness, who wished to remain anonymous.

In his email to Peel, Walsh said that “the only person threatening anyone is you [because] you are making threats to go to the media”. He said the person who had been the subject of the alleged “tirade” had asked that Peel “drop it” and accused Peel of saying he “should have sat the big mouth on his arse”.

The Guardian obtained the internal emails through a third party, and subsequently contacted Peel.

The NSW branch of the SSAA referred questions about the incident to Walsh, who said the Guardian did not “have all the facts” but refused to elaborate.

“This person is a disgruntled member and has been referred to our branch lawyer,” he said. “As such I am not in a position to comment until I have spoken with our lawyer to see what I can disclose.

“I will gladly provide a formal response once I have received this advice.”

A subsequent email from the SSAA lawyer, Stephen Mainstone, said it was an “internal branch matter” and was under investigation.

“Until such time as this matter can be properly investigated, our client will not be making any further comments,” he said in the statement.

Guardian Australia put questions to the lawyer a second time by email but he declined to comment.

Following publication, Mainstone issued a separate statement describing the incident as a “misunderstanding”.

“On 20 May 2018, a misunderstanding occurred whereby the branch attended the range believing it had a booking to use it for a “try shoot” session. The senior vice president of the branch, who had overall responsibility for the Range that day as the controlling range officer was approached by a member of another club that had booked the range,” he said.

“There was an exchange of words between the two men, after which the senior vice president became aware of the mistake as to the booking. He packed up the branch equipment and the shooting session was terminated.

“Whilst both men agreed their language was inappropriate, at no time did the Senior vice president feel threatened in any way by the other man. The matter was resolved through the branch committee and the men the following day.

“So far as the branch and the two men are concerned the matter is over and has been since that day.”

“At no time was the safety of any range user compromised on that day.”

•This article has been amended to include a media statement from Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia