19 June 2007

Brendan Keilar Dead after Melbourne Shooting

FRIENDS of solicitor Brendan Keilar, gunned down as he tried to rescue model Kara Douglas as she was being assaulted, say his last act was typically brave and selfless.

Mr Keilar, 43, was on his way to work when he came across a man dragging Ms Douglas from a cab by the hair in central Melbourne during the morning peak yesterday.

In the blink of an eye the man pulled out a gun and opened fire, fatally wounding Mr Keilar and seriously injuring Ms Douglas and a second, unidentified man who also went to assist.

The father of three died despite the efforts of paramedics, who fought for an hour to revive him at the scene.

Mr Keilar's family gathered at his Hawthorn East home to comfort his widow, Alice, son Charlie, eight, and daughters Phoebe and Lucy, aged six and four, The Herald Sun reported today.

Brendan Keilar grew up in Warrnambool, in Victoria's south-west. He was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1988 after completing law and commerce degrees at the University of Melbourne, Fairfax newspapers reported.

He was a partner at commercial legal firm Norton Gledhill and specialised in property law.

Mr Keilar was also a member of the University Blacks football club. The club's reserves coach, Justin Gray, said his friend was a fearless rover for the team in the 1980s and naturally showed the same fearlessness yesterday.

"That is exactly the sort of thing you would expect him to do," he told the Herald Sun.

"He was caring for others. He always came to the fore."

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21930003-1702,00.html

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