Footage Of Man Shooting At Prince Charles Resurfaces Online
A video of the moment a man shot at Prince Charles in protest has resurfaced online.
The dramatic footage was taken at an event in Sydney, Australia, back in 1994, when David Kang shot two blanks at the Prince of Wales with a starting pistol.
A university student at the time, Kang's actions were a protest against the treatment of more than 100 Cambodian asylum seekers held in detention camps in the country.
The dramatic footage starts off with the royal being introduced to the crowd at Darling Harbour, only for two shots to be heard nearby.
Seconds later a team of bodyguards and personnel wrestle Kang to the crowd before he's escorted off the stage, while Prince Charles appears utterly unfazed by the whole thing.
The perpetrator was eventually found guilty of threatening unlawful violence and sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
Fast forward to 2005 and, when Charles was planning on another trip to Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald got in touch with Kang and found out he was a qualified barrister.
Speaking to the publication at the time, he said: "What happened 11 years ago was an extremely traumatic experience and I have certainly moved on in my life and now I have become a barrister here in Sydney.
"To think about it even now unsettles me a little bit... what happened back then was extremely traumatic and the effect it had on my family was deeply upsetting."
Kang went on to describe his shock at not being gunned down himself, stating: "Everything turned funny, turned quiet. I slipped the starting pistol out and stood up. I had to jump the picket fence.
"I heard a bang, then another bang... I'd shot the gun into the air, I didn't aim at anything. I thought I'd dropped the gun before I hit the stage, but it was still in my hand.
"I didn't trip on the stage, I deliberately fell, because I didn't have any intention to hurt anyone.
"I could hardly believe that I'd reached the stage, and when I slid across, nothing had happened to me, nobody had touched me."
His dad Robert also commented on the incident and how happy he felt that his son moved on.
"I think he is happy now," he said. "He got his wig last year and is a barrister now."
The clip resurfaced on Reddit today (22 March) where it's received hundreds of comments from the online community.
"The speed they reacted was terrible," wrote one, while another said about Prince Charles: "He looked confused."
Someone who claims to have been in the crowd at the time added: "I was there as a student. It was an Australia Day celebration, 26 January 1994.
"There were many school groups there, I was sitting just behind the stage out of view of the video with a mass of kids who were part of a choir, singing back up vocals to Kate Ceberano!
"As a 14 year old, it was quite scary seeing it unfold right in front of us. He fired a starter gun, pretty much a cap gun, but we didn't know that at the time."
Words: Daisy Phillipson
Topics: Prince Charles, Royal Family, Australia
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