Martin Bryant was arrested after killing at least 34 people on Tasmania in 1996. The attack became known as the Port Arthur massacre, one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern Australian history.
On 28 April 1996, Bryant opened fire at the historic Port Arthur site in southeastern Tasmania, beginning at the Broad Arrow Café and continuing elsewhere nearby. He killed 35 people and wounded many others. He was arrested the following day after a standoff at the Seascape guesthouse, which he had set on fire.
Bryant initially faced murder and attempted-murder charges but later pleaded guilty. In November 1996, the Tasmanian Supreme Court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The case is sometimes confused with other Australian mass killings, but the Tasmania location and 1996 date specifically identify Bryant and the Port Arthur massacre.
The tragedy prompted a major national response. Under Prime Minister John Howard, Australia introduced sweeping gun-control reforms, including tighter restrictions on semiautomatic firearms and a nationwide gun buyback program.