Gunman confesses to journalist and hijacks news van – video

A gunman flagged down a TV cameraman to confess that he had injured a woman before hijacking his news van at gunpoint then crashing into a petrol tank.

Peter Steer, a cameraman for Australia’s Channel 7 News, was rushing to a reported shooting in Brisbane when a barefoot biker signalled for him to pull over.

"He got off his bike and approached me and said ‘I’ve got a story for you’," said Steer. "I said ‘Well mate, you better hurry because I’m going to a shooting’, and he said ‘Mate, I'm the shooter.'"

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In an extraordinary sequence of events, the gunman identifies himself as Jordy Brook and confesses that he has done an "extremely bad thing". Tearfully, he tells Steer: "I hope she’s alright. I think she’s dead."

Steer can be heard on tape calling the police, but he claims officers took half an hour to arrive.

As they are waiting, Brook suddenly jumps into the news van and points a gun at Steer, who urges the man not to be a "f***ing idiot".

As the suspect drives off, another of Steer’s cameras inside the van captures the moment Brook crashes into a sign, then into a petrol tank at a garage.

A witness at the petrol station said Brook got out of his car and demanded a cigarette lighter but police quickly managed to detain the suspect.

Firefighters were called out to deal with the leaking tank, which contained 7,000 litres of petrol, and surrounding streets were locked down for hours.

Brook, 45, was later charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a weapon and unlawful damage.

Steer, who has been a cameraman since 1980, said he was not too shaken by the incident but probably needed a "large drink".