Suspected gunman on run from suspected stolen ute north of Brisbane

A suspected gunman continues to evade police, 24 hours after he allegedly fired a rifle before bolting into bushland.

Police are continuing to search for a suspected gunman 24 hours after he allegedly fired a rifle before bolting into bushland.

An emergency declaration was lifted at 6pm last night after police were unable to locate the man in bushland off the D’Aguilar Highway at Caboolture.

Police responded around 11am to reports that a man in a suspected stolen car was parked on the side of the D’Aguilar Hwy.

It was reported to police that the man had fired shots from a rifle before running into bushland.

An emergency declaration was made which included the area of Elof Rd through to Male Rd (north), the D’Aguilar Hwy (south), Bruce Hwy (east) and Pettigrew St (west).

The area included in the emergency declaration at Caboolture. Source: Queensland Police

The public was asked to avoid the area and traffic on the nearby highway was heavily congested.

It is understood a tow truck driver went to retrieve the suspected stolen car from bushland and discovered a man inside the car.

Elite police units PSRT and SERT were called to assist in the hunt for the suspected gunman. Drones and the dog squad were also used in the search.

Congestion is mounting on the Bruce Highway northbound between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast after a PSPA was announced at Caboolture.

A Caboolture-based tow truck company told The Courier-Mail they’d been called to pick up the white utility amid reports a man had an accident and driven off the highway.

But when the driver arrived at the scene, he found a man sitting in the back of the ute, allegedly in possession of a rifle.

“It’s a strange thing that he was sitting in the car, he was visible to everyone,” a spokesman from the company, who did not want to be identified, said.

The man reportedly started running away and fired a gun in the towie’s general direction as he bolted into the bush.

“He’s all right, he’s with police now,” the man said of the tow truck driver.

Ute suspected to have been involved in police incident involving gunman. Picture: 7News Brisbane