Cop and six others hit in gang war drive-by at city luxury CBD hotel

A court has heard extraordinary details of an alleged “gang war” outside a Brisbane CBD hotel where six bystanders, including an interstate cop were wounded.

Six bystanders, including an interstate cop and a teen, were wounded by buckshot pellets when they were caught in the crossfire of an alleged “gang war” outside a luxury hotel in Brisbane’s CBD, a court has heard.

The alleged target of the drive-by shooting outside the Westin Hotel on Mary St about 10.45pm on January 27, is alleged to be a gang member and has refused to give a statement to police, the Supreme Court heard on Friday.

The shooting was alleged to be pay-back to a rival gang for an earlier skirmish, the court heard.

Details of the shooting, captured on closed circuit television footage, were revealed in the Brisbane Supreme Court before Chief Justice Helen Bowskill during an unsuccessful bail application by Ayii Mabior Arok Amou, the alleged driver of the car which pulled up near the driveway of the Westin Hotel.

The Westin Hotel Brisbane, Friday, January 15, 2021 - Picture: Richard Walker

The male shooter got out of the car and allegedly fired two buckshot-style rounds from a shortened firearm at alleged an gangster, who was with two women.

The alleged target ran away and the buckshot struck the two women, and four bystanders including an off-duty cop on holiday in Brisbane, the court heard.

Amou, now aged 23, has been in prison on remand since January 29, and sought bail on 27 charges including seven counts of attempted murder, several charges of acts intended to maim, disfigure or disable, car theft, arson, firing a weapon in a public area, illegal possession of a gun, affray, drug possession and wounding.

He has previous convictions for armed robbery in company and possession of a collapsible knife when he was pulled over by police while driving while intoxicated in Fortitude Valley, the court heard.

He was already on bail for a charge of affray at the time he is alleged to have driven the car to the alleged shooting at the Mary St hotel.

Westin Hotel shooting incident - People take cover after hearing shots fired during the incident. Picture: 9 News

The affray charge relates to a brawl where Amou is alleged to have been part of a group of six men armed with glass bottles and knives fighting with five men when an unknown person discharged a gun.

“The Crown alleges he is a gang member, and that the attempted murder offending was related to rival gangs,” defence solicitor Lewis Hunter from Guest Lawyers told the court.

“A DNA statement is not expected until June next year, so assuming a committal late next year or early 2026, we are not looking at a trial in this matter until perhaps the middle or end of 2026,” Mr Hunter told the court.

Mr Hunter submitted that six of the seven attempted murder charges “are destined to fail” as prosecutors must prove an intent to kill.

Crown Prosecutor Sinead Butler conceded that proving Amou’s “reckless intent” for attempted murder charges related to the six bystanders would be a “challenge” for prosecutors to prove at trial.

Ms Butler told the court that the alleged target of the shooting has not given police a statement, which was “one challenge for the Crown”.

“But the offending was captured on CCTV footage,” Ms Butler said.

“Buckshot style ammunition which comprises small pellets that scatter on discharge, has the great potential to have lethal consequences and it is fortunate here that more serious consequences were not caused,” Ms Butler said.

Ms Butler said there was circumstantial evidence that Amou was the driver.

“He fled from police when they were pursuing him and coffenders on the night of the offence.

“He was successful at evading police for two days, until police were able to track him down at an address in Darra,” Ms Butler said.

The police helicopter Polair allegedly tracked the car alleged to have been driven by Amou and a police found a duffle bag containing a double barrelled shotgun alleged to have been thrown from the car, the court heard.

The car was abandoned and allegedly torched.

“Evidence of his gang involvement is limited to police intelligence at this stage,” Ms Butler said.

“I do concede there is circumstantial evidence that can place (Amou) in the vehicle,” Mr Hunter said.

“There are videos from his own phone of him driving that car earlier that day, there is also CCTV footage from a hotel about two-and-half hours before the offending where he is seen to get in the car,” Mr Hunter said.

In refusing bail Chief Justice Bowskill said Amou was a risk of failing to appear due to 11 prior convictions for breaching his bail.