Yamba, NSW, shooting: Wayne Smith's gun licence was revoked before his and son ... trends now
A father who police believe shot his son before turning the weapon on himself in a shocking murder-suicide previously had his gun licence revoked due to mental health concerns.
Wayne Smith, 58, is understood to have shot his son Noah, 15, while the teen was lying in his bed at their family home in Yamba, on NSW's north coast, last Thursday afternoon.
The pair's sudden and tragic death has rocked the small coastal community with many recalling their seemingly close father-son relationship.
However, investigators found Smith was stripped of his gun licence and weapons in August, 2021, after he admitted to struggling with his mental health - including suicidal thoughts - while submitting for a licence renewal, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The Firearms Registry flagged its concerns about Smith's health and the father was told he'd have to undergo an 'independent mental health assessment' before his licence could be reinstated.
He was handed back his licence a little over a year later in December, 2022.
Wayne Smith (left) and his son Noah (right) were found dead at their Yamba home
It is understood Smith (left) shot his son (right) before turning the weapon on himself in an apparent murder-suicide
The experts involved in clearing the reinstatement are expected to be called before the coroner as investigations continue.
Police sources said Smith had no other 'red flags' or criminal history.
However, his heartbroken elderly mother Glenda said the father had been through a 'very tough' couple of years and she was often 'worried' about him.
'It's too damn hard. I've just had the funeral lady here for two hours... He was the most beautiful man on this earth,' she said.
It is understood Smith was undergoing psychiatric and psychological treatment at the time of the shooting.
A relative of Smith and Noah called police to the family home at about 1.10pm on Thursday after making the grisly discovery.
Smith was well-known in the community having worked at the local Port Authority for 40 years as his family's third generation worker at the small pilot station.
Smith had his gun licence revoked in late 2021 after admitting to suffering from suicidal thoughts (pictured, the family's property on Kookaburra Court, Yamba, northern NSW)
In a 2013 interview he said he'd always wanting to work at the port to follow in his father's footsteps.
'I've got salt in the veins, mate – I never thought of doing anything different, I've been working at the port for 27 years,' he told Clarence Valley News 10 years ago.
'Dad worked the ports for 28 years. From memory, he started at Ballina [once the second busiest port on the NSW coast] and transferred from there, when it closed, to here.
'I grew up in the pilot's cottage up on the hill.
'I crossed the bar [at Ballina] when I was six months old, my son crossed the bar [at Yamba] when he was six weeks old – that's tradition.'
Smith was also an avid fisherman, having won the Yamba Lions Family Fishing Festival as part of team in 2016, and bonded over the hobby with Noah.
