Shooter admits he fired gun at family's home in Narrabundah

A shooter has admitted he repeatedly fired his gun at a Narrabundah home while a family, including two babies, sheltered in the building’s bathroom.

Court documents show 32-year-old Brodie Antoniak terrorised his life-long friend and his friend’s young family due to a disagreement over a ute.

Antoniak lived with his friend in Narrabundah for a short time in October 2020 and left behind his unregistered ute when he moved out.

On 3 November 2020, he, a woman, and a person police allege to be Jordan Elias Crooke, travelled from Batemans Bay to Canberra to collect the ute. But when they arrived at the home, an argument began over who owned the car and where it was.

The trio left and the woman went home before Antoniak returned to the Narrabundah house at about 2:40 pm in a silver Holden Commodore allegedly driven by Mr Crooke.

Antoniak yelled at his friend to come out of the house. He kicked the building’s aluminium gate, denting it, then jumped onto the roof of a Ford Focus before kicking its windscreen, leaving a large foot-sized hole in the glass.

When his friend and their partner came out of the house, he pulled a 50 cm-long sawn-off rifle out of his car and pointed it towards his friend.

As the couple fled inside, he fired towards his friend, hitting the doorway.

Antoniak’s friend yelled out to warn his family. His partner grabbed their two children, both under the age of two, and hid in the bathroom while he called Triple Zero.

“He’s got a gun, he’s at my house, he’s got a gun …. Get in the bath, get in the bath,” the father said over the phone.

When the operator asked who had the gun, he replied, “Brodie Antoniak”.

Antoniak fired several more shots towards the house before starting to drive away.

Hearing the gunfire had ceased, his friend peered out the window in time to see Antoniak’s Commodore do a U-turn and come back towards them.

He yelled at his family to get back in the bathroom before Antoniak fired two more shots at the house then drove away.

Antoniak drove towards John Gorton Drive and Coppins Crossing in Denman Prospect and hid his gun, before driving to Uriarra to hide the Commodore.

Shortly afterwards, he texted his friend to say, “you’ve got till 5am to return the ute”. He followed it up by texting, “5am maggot”.

Police found five projectiles had entered the home – four through the master bedroom window and one through the window near the front door.

During a search in Denman Prospect on 5 November, a police canine unit found a grey Tommy Hilfiger jumper hiding a shortened Stirling Model bolt-action rifle.

Police confirmed spent casings at the Narrabundah home matched spent casings in the gun and that the weapon had been stolen from NSW.

Antoniak’s alleged driver during the attack, 22-year-old Mr Crooke, who is from Batemans Bay, was released on bail in June after police extradited him from NSW to the ACT to face his charges.

Antoniak joined the ACT Magistrates Court by phone on Wednesday (7 July) before entering guilty pleas to charges of discharging loaded arms, damaging property and unauthorised use of a prohibited firearm.

Prosecutor Emma Roff withdrew several other charges. His lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith of Kamy Saeedi Law, requested the case be committed for sentencing.

Magistrate Glenn Theakston adjourned the matter to 15 July for its first appearance in the Supreme Court and remanded Antoniak in custody.

“Thank you,” Antoniak said before he hung up the phone.

Mr Crooke, a hospitality worker, was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting the discharging of a firearm at a building and will also appear in court on 15 July. He has not yet entered pleas.