The grief-stricken mother of 24-year-old Luke Gilbert, who was fatally shot by police on the main street of Airlie Beach late last month, paid a visit to the site of her son’s death leaving behind a card which read ‘this is where they took you, but this isn’t where you stay’ on the back.
She also placed a toy four-wheel drive vehicle symbolising his love of camping and adventures, alongside a miniature skateboard to represent his passion for skating when he was younger.
Arriving from the UK where she resides in the city of Manchester, Nicola and her husband Darren Gilbert, say that they hope police realise that their lives also ended that night.
The couple are staying in Townsville but came down to Airlie Beach on Monday when the body of their son was released.
They will now take him back to Mandurah in Western Australia where he had been living prior to moving to Queensland a few months ago.
Nicola said that her son was loved by everyone who knew him and that he lit up the room because he was such a genuinely nice guy.
Furious with what she views as ‘excessive force’ by the police, Nicola says she hopes the officers feel guilty about what they have done.
“I hope my son is the last thing you think about before you go to sleep,” she said.
“I hope you realise you were the bigger threat that night spraying bullets into the ‘safe’ precinct endangering others.
“I hope you wish you had used one of the three other options you had, I hope you never get to use your firearm ever again and I hope more that you don’t want to.”
Luke was fatally shot by police just after midnight on October 1 when he allegedly threatened officers with a pen knife which had a blade that is believed to be between 4-5cm long.
Up to five shots were allegedly fired that night, two hitting parked cars on the street and one fatally hitting Luke.
Police performed CPR on him for some time but unfortunately Luke was pronounced dead at the scene.
An outpouring of grief came from friends and family, with many in the community wondering how the incident provoked such a strong response from police.
Two officers were present at the time of the incident, one who is believed to have 13 years’ experience in the police force and the other with three years.
Investigations are continuing into the shooting with evidence being drawn from the body cameras worn by officers and CCTV footage of the scene at the time of the incident.
Luke Gilbert was fatally shot by police earlier this month
His parents left this vigil behind at the site of his death on the main street of Airlie Beach