Wollongong shooting: Man accused of firing at passers-by before shop siege hit with terror charge

A man who allegedly shot at passing cars and pedestrians before barricading himself in a dive shop last year has been charged with an additional terrorism offence. 

Simon Fleming, 40, was arrested at the scene and charged with six offences after allegedly firing shots at passers-by and then barricading himself inside a dive shop in Windang in Wollongong’s south about 9.30am on November 28.

He allegedly briefly held the store’s owner hostage before surrendering an hour later to heavily armed officers who had set up a perimeter at the scene.

A man who allegedly shot at pedestrians before barricading himself in a dive shop has been charged with engaging in an act of terrorism Pictured: Footage from Windang in Wollongong’s south in November showed a man dressed in all black carrying two firearms 

Simon Fleming, 40, allegedly took an employee hostage inside a dive shop, where he was arrested by police (pictured is vision of the arrest)

Police said guns, knives and devices were seized from his Windang home as well as white supremacist material that suggested a fixation with the military and Nazis.  

When he appeared in court via video link at Wollongong for a bail review on Wednesday he was charged with an additional offence of engaging in a terrorist act.

The maximum penalty for that offence is life in prison.  

The additional charge followed an investigation by the NSW police joint counter terror team, which includes members of the federal police and ASIO.

A bail application was withdrawn following the additional charge.

The investigation found Fleming was willing to commit violent acts and possessed documents containing extremist ideologies, some of which he authored, police allege.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton said the Windang siege was ‘frightening to the public and of great concern’, being ‘consistent with police and security agency threat messaging that we’ve been undertaking for some time’.

A man (pictured) was pictured being escorted away by police officers following November’s alleged siege

‘Our current threat is from lone actors, particularly people with an ideology, and mixed ideologies,’ he said.

‘They really move around in whatever their views are and they’re very much influenced by what they’re picking up and consuming on the internet.’

The ideologies differ and mix, but underpinning most of them is an anti-government sentiment, and the constant consumption of online content fuelling their ideology increases the threat of people moving from ideas to action, Mr Walton says.

Fleming was allegedly in possession of two firearms when he shot at passing cars and pedestrians before barricading himself in the shop.