Manhunt for two men wanted over Booral shooting

The detective leading the police response to the rapid growth of gun crime in the once-sleepy Fraser Coast has revealed the ‘very concerning’ truth about what officers are up against and how we can help to stop it.

Booral man in serious condition after alleged shooting.

A senior detective leading the investigation into the latest in a series of alleged gun crimes on the Fraser Coast says two suspects remain on the run and are considered armed and dangerous.

It comes after 49-year-old man was shot in the back outside his Booral home on Friday.

Speaking to reporters in nearby Maryborough on Monday, Inspector Gary Pettiford said police believed the shooting was a ‘targeted attack’.

A woman and child were inside at the time.

“He is very lucky to be alive,” Insp Pettiford said

“He is now in a satisfactory condition, he has been released from hospital.”

A gold BMW XS was stolen from the property and later found burned out.

Police are appealing for anyone who might have been in the Booral Rd area about midnight, September 2, that may have dashcam footage, to come forward.

Booral man in serious condition after alleged shooting.

He said CCTV of the offenders, which had been recorded at the property but can not yet be released, had been “most helpful”.

One of the men was wearing light coloured clothing while the second was wearing dark pants, a light shirt and around 175cm tall.

Insp Pettiford said police were very concerned about the escalation in alleged gun violence on the Fraser Coast in recent times including the fatal shooting of Craignish publican Greg Harding last month and an alleged carjacking at gunpoint in Kawungan.

“We have had an alarming rate of firearms-related offences occurring in the Wide Bay-Burnett district.

“And even if you take the firearms out of it, the level of violence seems to be escalating and that is very concerning to me as the inspector of this area and also for all the detectives who work in this area.

“There is a common theme though and that’s drugs.

“Drugs seems to be a common theme underlying all these violent offences that we’re going through at the moment, certainly in the past month and in previous years as well.

“When I say drugs I’m talking about cannabis and ice in particular.

“A lot of the offences are occurring where people are either affected by drugs or alcohol or it’s drug related, i.e. trying to rob people for drugs for trying to obtain money to buy drugs.”

Insp Pettiford appealed to members of the public to “dob in a druggie”.

“You can do it through Crime Stoppers,” he said.

“I’m not talking about doing it just as a once off.

“I’m talking about a continual thing, at least to the end of the year, because we really do want to stop this violent crime that’s occurring in this area, in particular Hervey Bay at the moment, and we can’t do it without public assistance.”

Insp Pettiford said it was an extreme worry to have officers looking for offenders who were armed.

“Police do a very dangerous job, and they do it well, but it’s the unexpected that we can’t play for.

“With guns in circulation out there, and we know these offenders are carrying them, it’s very dangerous, not just to the police but to the public and to the criminals themselves.

“Some of them arm themselves with replica firearms and gelblasters.

“If you see a photo of one of those, you cannot distinguish it from a real firearm.

“So when police are faced with that, they really have no option and that’s to withdraw their own service firearm.”

Insp Pettiford said police were constantly working to find illegal firearms, many of which were stolen from lawful owners or obtained on the black market “for tens of thousands of dollars”.

“If you put drugs and firearms together or drugs and violence together, the outcome is disastrous,” he said.

Inspector Gary Pettiford said the latest incident involved a 49-year-old man who was shot in the driveway in front of his Booral home on September 2.