A man allegedly armed with a gun has been shot by police on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Officers were called to a single-vehicle crash on the Sunshine Motorway on-ramp at Sippy Downs just before midday today.
A police spokesman said the man was allegedly armed and fled the scene.
Police said the man then became involved in a confrontation with police on Nambour Connection Road in Woombye, about 10 kilometres north of the initial crash site.
“Police tracked the car to Nambour Connection Road, when the driver got out of the vehicle and approached officers while armed with a gun, and was subsequently shot by police,” a Queensland Police Service spokesperson said.
Police at the scene at Nambour Connection Road. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Madeline Grace)
Officers provided first aid at the scene before paramedics took him to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
He suffered a “serious wound” but was in a stable condition, according to a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson.Â
Detective Acting Inspector Kerri Della-Bedova said a 31-year-old was in hospital with an injury to his shoulder.
She said that, after the initial crash, the alleged gunman was given a lift by another man, which was “part of the investigation”.
She could not say if the 31-year-old was wanted by police before the shooting.
“We’re still looking into the matter and it’s still being investigated,” she said.
Witness Claire Smith heard two gunshots and described the scene as “scary” to watch.
Ms Smith was driving past and witnessed part of the confrontation between the man and at least four police officers surrounding him.
“It just looked like he was taunting the police, I couldn’t hear what he was saying,” Ms Smith said.
“I was afraid for the [drivers] that had stopped because they were right next to him.”
Ms Smith said she heard two shots ring out as she passed the scene.
Officers near the scene at Woombye, on the Sunshine Coast. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Madeline Grace)
“It was so out of place to see a man waving a firearm around with the police with their guns drawn,” she said.
Resident Hannah Bonnick was with her children in their backyard when she heard a commotion on the busy road, followed by two gunshots.
“I heard some sirens, which is not unusual, but then I heard a lot of yelling, then I heard a gunshot,” she said.
“I just yelled at [my kids] and told them to get back inside.
“We ran upstairs and locked the doors, and then I told them to go to my room.
“I was just looking through the windows and there were police cars everywhere, then a helicopter started circling the sky for a good 30 to 45 minutes.”
Police blocked both directions of Nambour Connection Road this afternoon, after officers shot an allegedly armed man. (ABC News)
Ms Bonnick said it was a shock for her quiet community, particularly given there were two schools nearby.
“It was pretty scary only because just we didn’t know what was happening,” she said.
A spokesman for Suncoast Christian College, which is located close to the scene, said police had advised the area was safe and that parents could pick up their children as normal.
Other witnesses described hearing multiple marked and unmarked police cars racing to the scene.
Police said the matter would be investigated by the Ethical Standards Command with oversight by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
Police are expected to provide more information at a press conference this afternoon.