Eagle Bar

What happened at the Eagle Bar in 1999?

Q:So today I was doing some research on an article I’m writing on the Eagle Bar at La Trobe University, Bundoora. Now, if any of you haven’t been to the Eagle Bar at the best University in Melbourne (trust me, I’m not biased…) I would highly suggest you give it a go. If not for the good looking La-Trobianites, than for the do it for the great live music and the chilled atmosphere. However, to get back to my question, I wanted to look into some of the history of the bar, so I went to my main man Google and had my way with him (textually speaking). What I found out surprised me, and not necessarily in a good way…

A: On the 3rd of August 1999, a shooting took place at La Trobe’s Eagle Bar which resulted in one man being killed and one women being seriously injured. The incident took place at 11:05 am when a man walked into the Bar armed with a .38-calibre revolver and fired shots around the bar, killing the bar manager Leon Capraro instantly. The killer was then restrained by security until the police arrived.
The killer was 38-yr-old Jonathon Brett Horrocks, who had previously worked at the Eagle Bar, but was sacked in the February of that year for allegedly stealing alcohol. Horrocks soon took up an unfair dismissal claim as he said his firing caused him ‘psychological damage’. His claim for unfair dismissal was later discarded, which was later rumored to be Horrocks motive for the shooting. He was charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years.Today, there is a plaque 100 metres from the Eagle Bar in memoriam of the victim Leon Capraro and an award in his name is awarded annually to the best Tourism and Hospitality student.

This fact wont deter me from going to my favourite bar, but it will make me stop and give a cheers to those who were injured and lost their lives more than ten years ago.

A Google a day keeps the doctor away.