Police gun and ammunition stolen during Townsville break-in spree

Chief Superintendent Graeme Paine has stated there are no known links to youth crime, hours after an unmarked vehicle was broken into and a police firearm stolen.

Chief Superintendent Graeme Paine said there is no evidence to suggest the theft of a standard police issued gun from an unmarked police car is linked to youth crime, as he declared that police were using a “significant number” of resources to get it back off the streets.

Chief Supt Paine briefed media at the city’s police station only two streets away from the site of a break-in spree at an accommodation venue in Wills St, where four offenders gained entry to five cars on Sunday morning.

They escaped the business in a stolen silver Holden Commodore they arrived in as well as a stolen black BMW by ramming through a security gate.

He would not provide detail on the four people involved except to say they did not appear linked to youth crime, nor on the type of gun or the amount of ammunition that were stolen from one of the vehicles, which was an unmarked police car.

Considering the number of cars that were stolen it did not appear to Chief Supt Paine that police were specifically targeted, but the unmarked car was part of a police operation.

Chief Superintendent Graeme Paine speaks at the Townsville Police Station about a break and enter of multiple vehicles and the theft of a firearm in Townsville City early on Sunday morning. Picture: Chris Burns

He said the firearm had been stored securely in the vehicle but that there would be an investigation into the details of just how it was removed and that the thieves forcibly broke into the car by breaking a window.

“I won’t go into detail other than to say that it was a police issued firearm and ammunition,” he said.

“Certainly, from our point of view, we haven’t identified any increased risk to the public at this point, but anyone that’s carrying a firearm or ammunition in public is a significant concern to us.

“Obviously, this is an individual unlawfully in possession of a firearm and ammunition at this point, so certainly from our perspective anyone that is carrying that in public is a concern.

“But like I said, no direct information to indicate an increased risk to the public, but yeah, we certainly want to try and take that person into custody and recover that firearm and ammunition as soon as we can.

“For operational reasons I can’t go into the type of firearm and exactly the manner and where it was stored other than to say that the window was smashed, the offenders have managed to get through the security that we had around the storage of the firearm and the ammunition and they’ve taken both.

“That will be subject to an investigation moving forward, and that will form part of that more holistic investigation, as we look at all different parts of what’s happened.”

QPS have CCTV footage which it is still examining, but were seeking more information from the community.

“We’ve identified the four offenders, the two cars, and if they have any information that can assist please let us know, but if we certainly get any additional or more specific information that we can share with the public to try and help that identification process we will certainly reach out.

“Certainly with different types of property crime there are people, or offenders, carry different tools and have different ways of achieving what they set out to achieve.

“So, from an investigative point of view we’ll forensically examine the scene, we’ll have a look at some of those different parts that were involved, we’ll have a look at the CCTV and if we get any additional information from the public, we’ll incorporate that into what we do, and then that will give us a more holistic picture on what’s occurred.”

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.

Quote this reference number: QP2402019477

Originally published as Police gun and ammunition stolen during Townsville break-in spree