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Axe-wielding man escapes from police after Gold Coast unit siege
By Toby Crockford
The man at the centre of a Gold Coast siege on Wednesday has escaped from the unit where he was holed up, apparently slipping through a police cordon and going on the run.
The man was armed with an axe inside the Labrador unit but it was not known whether he was still armed as police patrolled the area in search of him.
The police cordon on Brookside Road, Labrador, during the siege.Credit: Nine News Gold Coast - Twitter
A police spokesman said there was still no update on the situation as of Wednesday night.
Police decided to enter the unit about 2pm, six hours into the siege, but officers found the residence was empty.
They were first called to the unit complex on Brookside Road about 8am on Wednesday after reports of a disturbance.
A police spokeswoman said the man was holed up alone and was smashing property inside the residence with the axe, forcing police to cordon off the unit complex and declare a siege.
Officers had been trying to negotiate with the man, and established the cordon for public safety.
-with Matt Dennien