Airlie Beach business owner in shock over fatal shooting

Blood stained the pathway the popular Airlie Beach party strip for about 16 hours where police shot a man dead after a harrowing incident that has shocked late night business operators.

Blood stained the pathway of Airlie Beach’s popular party strip for about 16 hours where police shot a man dead after he rushed officers while armed with a knife, in a tragic incident that has shocked late night business operators.

Mackay’s Hannah Petrowski, who had been in the party hotspot for the long weekend, was nearby when the harrowing incident unfolded and witnessed CPR being performed on the fatally wounded man.

Mackay’s Hannah Petrowski was in Airlie Beach and saw CPR being performed on the fatally wounded man after police were forced to open fire. Picture: Janessa Ekert

“I heard something that sounded like fireworks or firecrackers,” she said.

“I ran around the corner and saw that someone had been injured.

“It looked like he was being arrested at the time and then we realised there was CPR being performed and first aiders at the scene trying to revive him.”

Part of the main street was cordoned off until 4.15pm that same day as the area was forensically examined and officers from the Ethical Standards Command inspected the area.

“It was a bit scary because we didn’t really know what had happened, what they were doing,” Ms Petrowski said.

“People didn’t really know what to do with their night from there on.”

Windows of a vehicle shot out when police were forced to open fire on a man who rushed at them while armed with a knife on the main street of Airlie Beach. Picture: Janessa Ekert

Fire crews were called in to hose and scrub down the site before the police tape was removed.

The incident was captured on CCTV and police body-worn cameras.

Officers had told the man, who was advancing armed with a black-handled knife with a 4-5cm blade, to put the weapon down and fired warning shots.

When he continued to move towards the officers, they were forced to open fire.

He died at the scene.

Two vehicles were hit with bullets including a black ute about 50m away from the site.

Owner of Tropic Kebabs Mustafa Secgin was working the night a 24-year-old Western Australia man died outfront of the NAB bank on the main street, opposite his shop about 12.18am.

Fire crews clean blood stains from the path where a 24-year-old Western Australia man was shot dead on Airlie Beach's main strip. Picture: Janessa Ekert

Mr Secgin said it had been busy inside his shop when he heard the officer’s gunfire nearby.

“Just boom boom, boom,” he said.

“After half an hour I understand.”

He said he saw police later swarm the area and people told him someone had been shot.

Mr Secgin, who had owned the shop for five years, said the tragedy had shocked him.

“I am very upset … very sad,” he said, adding he had never seen anything like it before.