A 19-year-old woman is fighting for life and three men remain hospitalised following a drive-by shooting outside a pub hosting a boxing event south of Brisbane late on Saturday night.
Emergency services were called to the licensed premises in Loganholme after multiple shots were discharged from a passing vehicle into a group gathered near the venue entrance. Patrons had gathered at the suburban venue for a scheduled boxing tournament before the gunfire triggered widespread panic.
Chaos outside Loganholme venue
The shooting took place as spectators and patrons were mingling outside the hotel complex. ABC News Australia reported that a vehicle approached the street outside the venue before an occupant discharged multiple rounds into the crowd, speeding away before police could arrive.
Bystanders rushed to assist the wounded in the immediate aftermath of the attack, attempting to stem bleeding and render emergency first aid prior to the arrival of first responders. Loganholme’s commercial strip was rapidly locked down as police and paramedics swarmed the area.
Paramedics treated four people on the pavement outside the venue. The teenage victim, who sustained severe gunshot injuries, was treated at the scene by critical care paramedics before being rushed under police escort to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where she remains in a critical condition.
Victims rushed to metropolitan hospitals
Three men struck during the volley of gunfire sustained serious bullet wounds to their limbs and torsos. Paramedics stabilised the men at the scene before transferring them to major metropolitan facilities, including the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital.
All three men remain in serious but stable conditions following emergency surgical interventions overnight, according to health officials.
Queensland Ambulance Service deployed high-acuity response units, critical care doctors, and several ambulance crews to manage what quickly became a mass-casualty triage situation in the venue's carpark and perimeter.
Hunt underway for drive-by gunman
Queensland Police established an extensive crime scene in Loganholme, cordoning off adjoining streets and redirecting traffic along surrounding arterials. Detectives from the Logan District Criminal Investigation Branch, bolstered by specialist homicide and organised crime investigators, have commenced a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators.
Investigators are working to determine whether the shooting was a targeted reprisal or an indiscriminate attack linked to a dispute during the boxing fixture. Detectives are also examining whether the incident has links to organised criminal networks or local feuding groups in the Logan corridor.
Authorities have not yet released descriptions of the vehicle involved or the suspected firearm used in the assault. Public appeals have been issued for anyone who was in the vicinity of Loganholme on Saturday night with dashcam footage, or residents with private security cameras facing arterial roads, to come forward.
Detectives comb precinct for ballistic evidence
Specialist forensic officers spent the early hours of Sunday morning scouring the scene for ballistic evidence, mapping shell casings, and examining bullet strikes on the exterior walls of the hotel and nearby parked vehicles.
Witnesses who were inside the venue when the shots were fired are being interviewed progressively by detectives, while venue security footage is being cross-referenced with public traffic monitoring cameras across the Pacific Motorway network.
Police patrols across the Logan district have been escalated in response to the shooting to reassure the community and guard against potential retaliatory violence.
