A 28-year-old Southside man has been charged after a number of shots were allegedly fired across the Gympie Division on Saturday afternoon (February 27).
Just before 6pm, it will be alleged the man was in the company of a colleague at a local hotel when they became involved in a verbal dispute. At this time, it will be alleged he threatened to shoot the colleague.
It will further be alleged he returned home and became involved in an argument with a woman at the address which resulted in her fleeing with her two children.
The man allegedly then removed a 12-gauge shotgun from his safe before firing two shots while in his vehicle, a black Holden Commodore sedan, which was parked outside the residence.
The man then began driving along Excelsior Road before allegedly firing two more shots into the air, before proceeding to his colleague's address.
When he was unable to find his colleague at the address, police will allege he discharged the shotgun three times into the air while standing outside the unit block.
He then performed a burnout on the driveway of the unit complex causing the rear tyres of his car to dislodge from the wheel rims and continued to drive throughout Gympie on the rims.
Police will allege the man drove to his work site next where he fired numerous shots into the air before ramming the gates with his vehicle, causing extensive damage.
It will further be alleged he then discharged his firearm approximately 16 times into the metal office door to gain entry.
Once inside, the man allegedly took the keys to a truck and travelled along Tin Can Bay Road to the Freshwater track at Rainbow beach where it will be alleged he travelled 15 km along the sand track before crashing the truck into a tree.
At 1.30am the man was located by police at the Freshwater Campgrounds and taken into custody. Police allegedly located the 12-gauge shotgun nearby.
He has been charged with four counts of dangerous conduct with a weapon, two counts of wilful damage and one count each of dangerous operation of a vehicle, enter premise and commit, unlawful use of motor vehicle and use a carriage service to make a threat. He was denied bail and is due to appear in Gympie Magistrates Court today (March 1).
Police are calling on any witnesses who may have seen any of these incidents, or the vehicle that was used, to contact police.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
