In the Queensland city of Mackay, a woman was shot dead in front of two children in a car, according to the police, and one suspect has been taken into custody.
The 66-year-old guy, who was reportedly shot in the chest by the police when he went to check on the woman, spent the night in the hospital in a critical but stable condition.
Due to claims that the woman had been shot, police were summoned to Robb Place in South Mackay at approximately 430 p.m. yesterday.
District Officer Superintendent Graeme Paine revealed at a late-night press conference that a 34-year-old lady had driven to the scene.
“At which point a 31-year-old male from South Mackay, has approached the vehicle and discharged a firearm into that vehicle striking the female,” he claimed.
“At the time, there were two children in the vehicle.” Those kids, who looked like early teenagers, ran right away to a house nearby.
Both “an absolutely tragic situation” and “an absolutely shocking thing to have experienced” were described by Paine.
He would not provide any information, such as whether the 66-year-old was a neighbour or resided in the house the kids ran to, other than to say that everyone involved “lived in close proximity to each other” in South Mackay.
While they looked for the gunman, police closed off multiple streets for hours.
Around 7:45 p.m., police detained a 31-year-old guy outside a fast food restaurant on the Bruce Highway, close to Hinton Street, after they saw a suspicious car in the neighbouring town of Paget.
“We believe that we have a suspect in custody,” Paine stated.
“At this stage, there is no threat to the public.”
He emphasised that the inquiry was still in its early phases but stated that there was “nothing to indicate that there was any domestic situation at this stage”.
The 66-year-old guy was receiving treatment at Mackay Base Hospital and was thought to have been shot once in the sternum.
The following streets were included in the established exclusion zone: Robb Place, Paradise Street, Archibald Street, Kindermar Street, and Denton Street.
Traffic diversions were in place, however the general public was warned to stay away from the area and people inside the exclusion zone were asked to stay indoors until further notice.
Police reported that the Public Safety Preservation Act declaration had been removed at around 11 p.m.
