Man and teen allegedly wielding axe, rifle arrested at Gympie Central Shopping Centre

A man and a teen were arrested at a busy regional Queensland shopping centre following a terrifying alleged incident in the car park. Read what happened:

A man and a teenage boy were reportedly arrested at Gympie Central Shopping Centre on Saturday afternoon, after they were seen wielding weapons in a car park.

A 28-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy allegedly involved in a terrifying incident at Gympie Central Shopping Centre on Saturday afternoon were arrested and will face court.

A Queensland Police spokesman told the Gympie Times the 28-year-old man was charged with two counts of possessing dangerous drugs, one count of possessing property suspected of being used in an offence and one count of possessing drug utensils.

The 17-year-old boy was charged with possess shortened firearms, possess explosives, possess dangerous drugs, possess utensils.

The man is expected to face Gympie Magistrates Court on Monday, while the teenager will face Gympie Children’s Court this month.

Witnesses to the incident claimed on social media the pair, one wielding what looked like an axe with an icepick, and another allegedly with a gun, were arrested in the top underground car park of Gympie Central Shopping Centre.

Brett Paul Willie, who said he rushed in “to help” before the pair were allegedly tackled by police, said one of the men was in a car.

The Gympie Times reached out to Mr Willie for further comment, but he declined.

Gary Burow claimed one of the men had allegedly concealed a rifle in his trousers.

The car park was taped off during the alleged take-down, with traffic redirected through the two remaining car parks of the busy major Gympie shopping centre.