Armed offender, Wide Bay
Police have taken a 25-year-old man into custody after a series of alleged violent car thefts in the Wide Bay area this morning.
It will be alleged around 6.25am a man was forced out of his Holden Colorado ute on Watson Street in Hervey Bay by a man armed with a knife.
The man allegedly drove the vehicle to Tinana in Maryborough where he discarded the ute just after 7.30am.
He then broke into a home on Three Mile Road West just before 8am where he demanded a vehicle belonging to a woman inside the residence.
The owner of the car, a woman aged in her 30s, refused to comply and sustained a stab wound to her hand during a struggle with the man.
The man produced a firearm and discharged a number of shots before fleeing the scene.
It is further alleged the man then went into another home on River Road and demanded a vehicle belonging to a male resident.
The owner gave the man his keys who then fled in a white sedan.
The vehicle travelled south from Maryborough at speed along the Bruce Highway before it was sighted crashing through roadworks south of Tiaro.
Police then continued to track the vehicle as it proceeded south through Gympie and along the Bruce Highway through the Sunshine Coast.
At 10am the vehicle was intercepted on the Bruce Highway at Parklands where specialist police discharged their firearm at the armed man during a confrontation.
The man was also struck by a passing vehicle during the incident.
He was transported to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital where he remains in a serious condition.
The Bruce Highway was closed following the incident, however, has since reopened.
The Criminal Investigations Branch and Forensic Crash Unit is continuing investigations into the incidents.
The Ethical Standards Command has commenced a critical incident investigation into the police response with oversight by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
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.
Report crime information anonymously via Crime Stoppers. Call 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au.
