Mark Bombara’s devastated family have blown their cover for the first time since he slaughtered a mother and daughter before killing himself – as the government launches a new crackdown on guns in the wake of the tragedy.
Bombara, 63, shot 53-year-old Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl at their Floreat home, in Perth’s upmarket western suburbs, on Friday afternoon before turning the gun on himself.
The property developer, who was the registered owner of 13 guns, was looking for his ex-wife and mother of his four adult children, Rowena, who had been staying at her boyfriend’s home in Berkeley Crescent on and off since the couple broke up in April broke up. 1.
While the two families cope with the shocking tragedy, the Bombara clan, which includes children Candice, Ariel, Isaac and Eden, has remained out of the public eye.
However, Candice and Isaac were spotted outside her East Freemantle home on Monday as they went shopping.
Returning to the property with a Woolworths shopping bag in hand, Isaac respectfully declined to comment, saying he “didn’t care” to talk about what had happened.
Gunman Mark Bombara’s daughter Candice is pictured leaving her East Freemantle home with her husband to do some shopping on Monday
The photo shows Isaac Bombara leaving his sister’s house on Monday to go shopping
The sighting comes as the Western Australian government announced on Monday that new gun laws due to be presented to parliament in coming days could be further tightened after it was revealed Bombara owned more than a dozen firearms.
In October, the WA government unveiled proposed reforms to firearms laws that would limit the number of guns a person can own.
Under the revision to the Firearms Act, recreational shooters would only be allowed to have five guns, while farmers and competitive shooters would be limited to 10.
Gun owners would also have to undergo mental health checks and could automatically lose their firearms licenses if a non-violent or domestic violence order is issued against them.
If the bill is passed by Parliament, Western Australia will have the strictest gun laws in the country.
However, authorities are now considering cracking down on gun owners even further as questions arise over whether the deaths could have been prevented.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Police Minister Paul Papalia revealed that Bombara had 11 firearms under a recreational shooter license and two pistols under a collector’s licence.
It is understood the weapon used Friday was one of the handguns.
Mark James Bombara was on the hunt for his former partner, Rowena, who was staying with Ms Petelczyc after their bitter divorce (Bombara and Rowena are pictured together)
Mark and Rowena are the parents of (photo from left to right) Isaac, Eden, Candice and Ariel Bombara
Prime Minister Roger Cook said the Floreat tragedy highlights the need for stricter gun control laws.
“There is no reason why anyone living in Mosman Park should be able to legally own 13 guns,” Prime Minister Roger Cook said.
‘It’s hard to fathom. One man, thirteen guns, legal possession, in the middle of Perth’s suburbs.’
Mr Papalia said Bombara had no previous convictions and only became known to police after his ex-wife contacted them for help on March 31 to ask for their assistance when they entered the couple’s matrimonial home in Mosman the following day Park left.
Mr Papalia said she asked for officers to be present at the house while she packed her belongings because of “family domestic violence”. [FDV] related matters’ that had not previously been reported to the police.
Under both current gun laws and proposed reforms, officers still would not have had the power to strip Bombara of his weapons when the FDV cases were first brought to police eight weeks ago.
Although Bombara was not under a restraining order, Papalia said the new laws would have limited the number of guns he owned to five.
Mr Papalia said he and the police commissioner would now consider whether further changes could be made to those reforms.
“I think so, I think we are more likely to take action to remove firearms from buildings where there is a potential for harm,” he said.
“We need to tackle every part of the law to make it tougher, but particularly around this seizure of firearms, and what point that seizure is made in relation to incidents of this nature.
Mark Bombara, 63, stormed Jennifer Petelczyc’s home in Floreat, in Perth’s western suburbs, at around 4.30pm on Friday, looking for his estranged wife Rowena. Unable to find her, Bombara instead shot dead her 53-year-old friend Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter Gretl, 18, (pictured together) before turning the gun on herself.
Two young women lay floral tributes at the scene of the murder
“Right now, people are clearly allowed to hold on to their firearms longer than would be possible in the future.”
The announcement comes after a family friend of Ms Petelczyc told Daily Mail Australia the mother-of-two confided she feared for her family’s safety after learning Bombara was driving around with a Glock under the seat of his car, seeking to his ex. woman.
The friend said Bombara had become increasingly erratic over the past six months after suffering mini-strokes and diabetes but receiving no treatment, leading to significant personality changes.
The family friend said Ms Petelczyc, a widow, regularly visited his parents to seek legal advice from his lawyer father on ways she could protect her daughters and Ms Bombara.
He said the last time his parents saw Ms Petelczyc, two weeks ago, shortly before they went on holiday, his father shouted at her as she walked down the driveway: ‘Don’t forget to report it. [Bombara driving around with a gun] to the police’.
Ms Petelczyc shouted back: “I will” before turning around and going home.
Pictured: Mourners comfort each other after leaving floral tributes outside the murder scene
The family friend said they are unsure whether or not Ms Petelczyc reported the matter to police.
Daily Mail Australia understands WA police have been unable to find records showing Ms Petelczyc reported the matter to police.
Ms Bombara had been staying at Petelczyc’s home since she left her ex-husband last month, but was not at the property when he stormed the house at around 4.30pm on Friday.
Daily Mail Australia understands Bombara shot each woman in separate rooms of the house before killing himself, with police officers hearing the final shots as they ran up the road to the scene.
The tragedy leaves eldest daughter Leisl Petelczyc, 23, who was not home at the time, the only surviving member of the family after her father Jon died of pancreatic cancer in August 2019.
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