Government leaders warned against a possible backlash against Asian immigrants Tuesday as police sought the killers of a politician who had crusaded against Asian gang violence.
New South Wales state legislator John Newman, 47, was killed Monday night outside his home in Cabramatta.Prime Minister Paul Keating, who was visiting Tokyo, described the killing as a "disgraceful and cowardly act." He declined to speculate on whether the shooting was politically motivated and urged Australians not to blame the Asian community.
It was the first killing of an Australian politician in office since 1921, when another New South Wales member of parliament was shot to death. In 1966, an opposition leader was slightly wounded by glass fragments from a shot fired at his car.
Newman was shot twice in the chest and died on the steps of his house as his Chinese-born fiancee, Xiao Jing (Lucy) Wang, looked on.
He had just arrived home from a political meeting, and the couple were placing a tarpaulin over his car, which had been recently vandalized with paint.
Witnesses said a car with two men inside pulled up. One man jumped out and fired four shots, got back in the vehicle, and the men sped off.
Police said they found the vehicle abandoned in a nearby parking lot.
Colleagues said Newman had received death threats over his long-running campaign to eliminate gang crime against Asian families and businesses in Cabramatta.