Mum survives horror shooting by ex after making repeated calls to police
A woman who was shot by her ex-partner in a terrifying domestic violence attack had called police five times before the ordeal, an inquest has heard.
Eileen Gibbons, from Mayo, Ireland was shot in the stomach by Ralph Donald at a home in Millner, Darwin, Australia, in October 2023.
Donald then took his own life in the front yard of the house. Miraculously, Ms Gibbons survived the attack, reports the Irish Mirror.
The inquest is examining the circumstances surrounding Donald's death and the warnings police received before the tragedy.
Officers were called five times in the six months leading up to the shooting, after reports that Donald was stalking Ms Gibbons, locking her inside his house, and preventing her from leaving.
"Things were getting out of hand and I was crying out to the police," she said.
The inquest also heard that Donald himself, as well as his brother, made reports during arguments with Ms Gibbons.
While Northern Territory police followed up on the calls and offered support, they failed to spot the warning signs of escalating danger.
One officer involved in Ms Gibbons' case in 2023, who cannot be named due to a suppression order, admitted he did not identify immediate red flags.
He told the court that because there was no prior history of physical violence, a domestic violence order could not be applied at the time.
However, he added that after completing Prevent, Assist, Respond (PARt) training on coercive control, he now recognised the signs and would have acted differently in hindsight.
In the weeks before the attack, Donald, 35, had reportedly been "spiralling" following the couple's breakup, feeling "isolated and distressed".
Ms Gibbons said Donald, a heavy drinker with anger issues, had become increasingly controlling and "toxic," including locking her in the house, but he had never been physically violent before.
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The court heard that on the evening of October 3, 2023, Ms Gibbons went to Donald's home to collect items for their 11-month-old daughter.
Donald appeared in the front yard with a rifle and shot her in the stomach before turning the weapon on himself.
"He got approximately two metres from her and said, 'do you want to die?' while holding up the firearm," Dr Dwyer said.
Fearing for her life, Ms Gibbons tried to flee but fell to the ground.
Donald's mother had been in the garden watering plants, and his brother Charles ran out after hearing the gunshot, standing between Donald and Ms Gibbons during the shooting.
Ms Gibbons gave evidence via video link from Ireland.
She moved to Australia in her 20s and met Donald in 2019 while working as a case worker at the Salvation Army.
Donald had joined a programme to tackle his alcohol problem, and a relationship developed after she left the job.
Ms Gibbons told the court the attraction was immediate and she quickly requested to be taken off his case. Soon after she left the job, they started a relationship.
Ms Gibbons told the court there had been red flags from the beginning, but after their baby was born in 2022, the relationship took a turn.
"It was toxic," she said.
"He was quite stressed… he didn't have coping skills."
The coroner heard Donald was working as a tyre fitter and was beginning an apprenticeship at the time of his death.
However, Ms Gibbons said the couple were under significant financial stress, with their mortgage having risen three times, and that things "really escalated in the last year".
The inquest is expected to last five days.
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