Gunman dies after being shot by police as hostages freed in Brisbane siege drama

A man who was shot and killed by police following a dramatic six-hour siege on Brisbane’s southside, in which five people were rescued, has been identified as a homeless man who struggled with addiction and mental health issues.

An armed man who was holed up inside a disability support service clinic on Brisbane’s southside on Monday evening has died after being shot by police.

The deceased gunman has been confirmed as 48-year-old Woodridge man Peter Pilkington, who has been described as having struggled with addiction and mental health and was homeless.

In a poem posted on Facebook, a woman who knew Peter said he was someone who “could not become the hero” of his own story.

Peter Pilkington has been identified as the man killed after a siege at Stretton.

“In disbelief, I don’t know what to say,” the woman wrote.

“We were shocked when we heard the news yesterday. It was you at the centre of the siege.

“So close to home, it was hard to believe. Then I woke up to read, at 2am, that shots fired had killed the armed gunman.

“A wave of sadness has come over me, as I think about the person you could have been.

“There won’t be many with good things to say, so I want to try and find a way, to remember the child that he once was, instead of the man without a cause...”

It is understood Pilkington, who police say was carrying a pistol and a knife, suffered a chest wound.

He is believed to have been attending a support group at Unique Oz Care, an NDIS service provider, when the incident began.

Police attending to an incident at Sunnybank on Monday. Picture: Jerad Williams

Heavily-armed specialist police were called to Compton Rd scene at 1.20pm following reports a man was inside a business armed with a gun.

Police on Monday night confirmed five people were also inside the building at the same time as the alleged gunman but that they were locked inside a separate room.

Police this morning said he had made no direct threats against them.

Police will allege that at about 7.30pm, the man, a 48-year-old from Woodridge, raised his firearm at police and was shot by officers.

He was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition where he later died.

There were no other injuries.

Prominent Islamic leader Ali Kadri said he had got to know Pilkington well over the years.

“He converted to Islam in jail a few years ago,” Mr Kadri told The Courier-Mail.

“Since then he has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.

“A lot of people tried to help him including the police service and the community.

“We reached out to the QPS (Queensland Police Service) at a certain point and QPS obliged and tried to help.

“Unfortunately none of the people trying to help him had the resources with someone with such severe mental health problems.”

Ali Kadri said Mr Pilkington had struggled with addiction and mental health challenges. Pic: Tara Croser.

Mr Kadri said Pilkington was “living rough” and had been homeless.

“His mental health kept deteriorating,” he said.

Mr Kadri said Pilkington would ask people in the community, including himself, for money and support.

“We got to the point that providing cash would lead to him buying drugs,” he said.

“He needed intensive support which none of us were capable of providing.

“He struggled with addiction. And because of that he was always short of cash and money.

“He used to lash out now and again at everyone. He would get upset at me if we declined to give him money. He would say ‘nobody is helping me’.

“He would then calm down and apologise.”

Peter Pilkington’s nephew Monty Pilkington said he wasn’t sure of the full extent of his uncle’s battle with mental health but “it was really hard to hear he had been shot”.

“I personally don’t know too much but from what I understand he was suffering from bipolar depression and schizophrenia and still hadn’t got over the passing of his daughter 17 years ago,” he said.

Mr Pilkington said he went to the scene about 7.40 on Monday night but “couldn’t handle being there”.

“The family spoke to police last night but we are still waiting to hear back on what actually happened,” he said.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll on Tuesday morning said it was a “very tense” and “very difficult” incident.

“We will allege that a person has tried to fire at one of our officers and as a result actions were taken by police,” she said.

“Some members of that business could not get out, but they were in quite a safe environment.”

She said that there is an internal investigation which will be overviewed by the CCC.

“Certainly it was very tense and very difficult, but obviously police have to take action in those circumstances,” she said.

“I’m grateful that those group of people are safe.”

Pravi Singh, who is the body corporate chairman of the building the clinic is housed in, said businesses were told to evacuate to a nearby service station about 3pm.

“About five or 10 minutes later police then approached me to get access to all the doors and that’s when they briefed me that there was a gunman at the NDIS service provider but they didn’t know the whole situation at that point,” he said

“Then 15 or 20 minutes later we saw the tactical team show up.”

Mr Singh said they were told that the gunman said he could still see people.

“So the police were worried that he was going to shoot people if he saw them,” he said.

Pravi Singh inside the building where the siege occurred. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mr Singh said it must have been an awful experience for the director of Unique Oz Care, who “comes from a war-torn country”.

A lady who works at a pathology service inside a nearby practice said she was with a patient at the time of the incident.

She said when she opened the door to the main foyer of the practice about 3pm police had already locked the reception door.

“Police said the man was hiding somewhere outside but I’m not sure exactly what happened inside the practice,” she said.

The aftermath of a siege at Stretton on Monday afternoon. Picture: Brad Fleet

Police said a group of people had locked themselves in a room to escape the gunman but stressed he had made no direct threats against them.

Nearby businesses were evacuated during the afternoon while police attempted to speak to the man.

A local cafe owner said police alerted businesses of the gunman about 2pm.

“30 minutes later I ran to the local petrol station for safety … a lot of other businesses in the complex did the same thing,” he said.

Dozens of emergency services vehicles, including police and ambulance, were clustered around the Liberty Fuels service station, with Polair patrolling overhead.

It was earlier unclear whether the gunman was inside the service station or an adjoining business.

A man was taken to hospital after being shot by police but later died. Picture: Jerad Williams

The backstreets of Stretton were chaotic during the siege, with Penson St and Roosevelt Dr gridlocked while people tried to find a way around the blocked section of Compton Rd.

A large exclusion zone was put in place.