Runcorn street fight involving 40 people leaves three injured

Messages sent on social media may have led to simmering tensions within a community in Brisbane’s south erupting into a shocking 40-person brawl.

A terrified witness has told of the moment carloads of men arrived with weapons and engaged in a shocking mass brawl on a suburban street in Brisbane’s south that left a number with serious injuries.

Three men suffered serious injuries in the brawl that involved about 40 people near Daw Road and Diamond Place around 10.30pm, where the fight had broken out.

Acting police Superintendent Simon Tayler said police were still working to determine the motive of the brawl.

He said the two groups were known to each other and officers had been aware of some bubbling tensions within the community involved.

He said officers had been engaging with south Brisbane’s Indian community, who Supt Tayler said had a very good relationship with police.

“ … but we don’t understand the motive of how it escalated to 40 people behaving like that last night,” he said.

Supt Tayler said it was crucial witnesses come forward as “motive, size and reasoning” is investigated.

It’s believed messaging via social media in the lead up to last night’s incident may have sparked the fight, that was described by Supt Tayler as “quite a confronting scene,” and “quite hectic.”

A single dog squad officer was responsible for the apprehension of five men, who had fled from the scene in a car.

“As you can imagine, he’s attended a scene where he would’ve seen edge weapons being used … He has then gone out and shown great tactical nous and courage to take five offenders,” Supt Tayler said.

Supt Tayler also praised Queensland Police general duty officers, including one member who applied a potentially life saving tourniquet to an injured man.

Queensland Ambulance Service Medical Director Dr Stephen Rashford said several paramedic units, including Advance Care Paramedics, High Acuity Response Unit, Critical Care Paramedics and QAS Medical Director, responded to a number of locations across the suburb.

“Shortly before 10.30pm last night QAS responded to a request from the Queensland Police Service to attend to patients after a large brawl in Runcorn,” he said.

“Three male patients were transported to hospital with very significant injuries including limb-threatening wounds.”

The site of the wild Runcorn brawl. Picture: Tara Croser

One man suffered head, neck and significant injuries and was taken in a serious condition to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Another man aged in his 30s was hospitalised with head injuries, while a third patient suffered minor injuries and was also taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

“They were here to kill each other,” Craig Merwood, who lives nearby, said.

Mr Merwood recalled the moment the fight escalated from a verbal disagreement into a physical brawl that he said involved swords, sickles, crow bars, and metal poles.

“It was around 10:30 then next minute, everything just exploded,” Mr Merwood said.

“There were three or four cars going backwards and forwards, I don’t know if they were trying to run each other over, but there were about 40 people that just bashed the absolute s**t out of each other.

“They had big metal rods or poles, they had crowbars, they had those big swords with hooks on them.

“It was just incredible.”

Mr Merwood said his wife had gone outside to see the commotion, however was too frightened to venture too far from the fence line.

“She was too scared to poke her head out too far, it was that full on,” he said.

“They were there to kill each other.”

Mr Merwood and several other witnesses said one man was in a very bad way when emergency services arrived.

“He had his hand nearly cut off, his ear too,” Mr Merwood said.

“There were cuts all over his head and blood everywhere.

“They were here to kill each other, it’s that simple.”

Several neighbours have told The Courier-Mail they were too frightened to film the incident.

One man, whose home backs onto Daw Rd where the fight happened, said the violent group attacked a car as they pulled up into the street.

“They started beating the car with their weapons because the driver had seen what happened,” the man, who did not want to be named said.

“I didn’t want the camera to light up my face or the flash to go off, I was being cautious to protect myself and my property.”

Blood at the scene of a wild Runcorn brawl

A terrified anonymous eyewitness at the scene said about 40 men arrived in cars on her street, got out and then start attacking each other with weapons.

“They had shovels, metal poles and huge swords and were attacking each other and smashing vehicles,” she said.

“They were very, very angry and yelling at each other in a foreign language that I couldn’t understand.

“This is a quiet neighbourhood I’ve never seen before.

“It was very scary. It was like it was a scene from a movie.”

She said the men involved appeared to be of South Asian appearance.

“No houses or residents were targeted, the men were only attacking each other,” she said.

“They had to block the road off later because there were weapons all over the place.”

One man said the group were talking in another language and he could not understand what they were saying.

A resident who lives on Diamond Place said she went outside to look at the scenes unfolding on the adjoining street, however her neighbour stopped her from leaving.

“She told me to go back inside because the fight was too bad,” the woman, who did not want to be named said.

“She could see the fight and then after a while she could see the injured people lying and sitting on the ground. The ambulance came and put bandages on the men.”

This morning, the leafy streets were quiet again as parents took their kids to daycare and school.

Blood at the scene of a wild Runcorn brawl.

Police are investigating the incident which included several weapons including bats and poles.

A group of men attempted to drive away from the scene in a Nissan X-Trail but were intercepted by the dog squad on Nathan Street.

Seven men aged between 22 and 38 were taken into custody, with an eighth man located and arrested in Cactus Street.

All men have since been released as police continue to investigate.

Police say eight men in total were hospitalised with varying injuries.

Police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward.

You can contact police at Policelink online or on 131444.