On 9 June 1987, two men were shot dead by an unknown man at Victoria River in the Northern Territory. Their bodies were found in shallow graves. Five days later, three more people were shot dead at the Pentecost River Crossing in Western Australia. The victims in both cases were tourists.
The police responded to these crimes by mounting an exhaustive search by road and air. The perpetrator was located in a bush camp approximately 650 km from the last killings, 14 km from Fitzroy Crossing. He fired on police with a high calibre rifle. When refusing to desist, he was shot dead by police.
The criminal's motive for the act is unknown.