Now I feel like I properly live in a big city: I've been woken up by gunshots.

I assumed they only sounded like gunshots because they were blending into my dream. Because, of course, That Sort Of Thing Doesn't Happen Here. Well, it certainly doesn't happen on the corner of William and Flinders at 8am. So I assumed it was builders doing something (dropping things or whatnot, although half a dozen retorts in quick succession seemed like a lot of things to be dropping in a hurry) and briefly wondered if that was screaming.

Yes, it was.

When the intersection at William and Flinders (which I can see out my study window) was jammed solid with emergency forces, I still assumed it was a car accident or something similar, because yes -- Doesn't Happen Here. Except apparently it does, and it has.

Herald Sun and The Age reportage.