A man armed with a fake bomb who fired shots at passing cars and barricaded himself in a dive shop was mentally ill, not a terrorist, a judge has directed a jury before discharging them from the trial.
Simon William Fleming was dressed in black combat fatigues, armed with a rifle and a gel blaster, and pretending a silver briefcase was a bomb when he set off towards a main street on the outskirts of Wollongong on 28 November 2021.
A flurry of triple-zero calls reported confusion and fear as Fleming walked down the road wearing a balaclava, firing his rifle at cars and in the air.
A judge has…