By Sara James, Henry Austin and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News
MELBOURNE, Australia — Furious at the killing of an Australian college baseball player in Oklahoma, a senior figure in the victim’s home country blamed the “gun culture” of United States for the death, saying it was “corrupting the world.”
“The U.S. has chosen the pathway of illogical policy with regard to guns,” Australia’s former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer said Friday. “They cannot expect not to have any criticism of it worldwide.”
“I am angry because it is corrupting the world, this gun culture of the United States.”
His remarks came as the family of slain catcher Christopher Lane struggled to understand why three teens killed him, apparently telling cops they were bored.
“He was a kid on the cusp of making his life,” the victim’s father, Peter, told The Age newspaper in Melbourne. “He gave up a lot to follow his dreams. There’s not going to be any good come out of this because it was just so senseless.”
Lane, 22, had left Melbourne to attend East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where he was on a baseball scholarship.
Fischer said the lack of gun control in the U.S. had led to a massacre “each and every year since 1996” – in contrast to Australia, which has restrictions on firearms ownership.
He said the majority of illegally obtained guns used in crimes in Australia and Mexico had come from the U.S.
He added that he was not against guns, and kept weapons at his rural home, but added: “I am in favor of firearms sensible regulations to have the best of both worlds.
“Anybody can tomorrow go to a gun show in Oklahoma or California and buy a gun without a simple background check. That is illogical.”
He also said Australians should “think twice” before visiting the U.S.
“I’m not using the word boycott but I do say Australians should think twice and take into acct the risk of going to the USA in the circumstances that unfold there,” saying visitors would be “15 times more likely to be shot dead than if they stayed in Australia, per capita.”
In a statement on an a website set up to raise money for the funeral, Lane’s family said they were “touched” by the donations, which by Friday morning had rocketed past the $15,000 target – topping $123,000.
“We are so grateful for everyone’s generosity and truly touched by the support we have received,” they said in a statement posted on the site. “We are blessed now be able to give Chris the farewell he deserves.”
Michael Veal, who played alongside Lane on the East Central University’s baseball team, set up the fund Monday to help pay for his friend’s family to fly from Australia and receive his body, before taking it back home to be buried.









