Two men found shot in Pizza Hut car park at Upper Coomera
The two men found in a car outside a Gold Coast Pizza Hut with serious gunshot wounds were allegedly arguing over text messages with the alleged shooter.
Police & Courts
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The two men found in a car outside a Gold Coast Pizza Hut with serious gunshot wounds at the weekend were arguing over text messages with the alleged shooter before the attack, sources say.
The men, aged 19 and 29, were taken to hospital late on Sunday with injuries after driving to the car park at the Coomera Square shopping centre at Upper Coomera after being shot.
The 19-year-old was shot in the arm and the 29-year-old was shot in the abdomen around 2.20pm Sunday.
A manhunt continues for the shooter and police are searching for a black Q5 Audi they believe was “present” at the scene of the shooting.
It’s understood the two men had arranged to meet another man at Willow Vale.
Police sources say the two men and the alleged shooter had got into a disagreement and were communicating over text messages prior to the meeting on Sunday afternoon.
When the two men arrived, they were shot.
The alleged shooter and the victims are not believed to be members of an outlaw motorcycle gang.
It’s understood that the victims are not assisting police.
EARLIER
Two men are in hospital with serious gunshot wounds after driving injured to a Pizza Hut car park on the Gold Coast, with a manhunt under way for those responsible.
The men were found about 2.40pm at the Coomera Square shopping centre on City Centre Drive at Upper Coomera after driving there from the scene of the shooting in Willow Vale.
Speaking to media on Sunday night Queensland Police detective inspector Chris Ahearn said police were notified by the victims who had driven to the Coomera Square shopping centre 10 minutes after the shooting incident.
“Police are currently investigating the circumstances of a shooting that occurred this afternoon at about 2.20pm at the corner of Ruffles Road and Hotham Creek Road, Willow Vale,” he said.
“Early investigators indicate that a black Q5 Audi was also present at that scene.
“We’ll be asking any person that was present at location at about 2.20pm this afternoon to contact crime stoppers.”
Inspector Ahearn said there was a “significant presence” of police in the area while the search for the black Q5 Audi continues.
Critical care paramedics rushed the pair to Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition.
Queensland Ambulance Service said a 29-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and a 19-year-old man was shot in the upper arm.
“The men, who are believed to have non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, were located inside a car in the car park,” police earlier confirmed.
Police and paramedics were on scene for several hours and a manhunt was under way after the offenders reportedly fled the shooting scene in a vehicle.
Inspector Ahearn said police had nothing that suggests the victims lived in the area of the shooting and it was still uncertain if it was a targeted attack.
The 19 and 29-year-old men who were shot, who are believed to be friends, will be interviewed when they recover from their injuries.
A crime scene was been declared.
Coomera local Dominic Soich, 18, said he and his friends were around the corner from the incident but didn’t hear any gunshots.
“We came around after the shots and saw when they (the victims) got pulled out of the car,” he said.
“They got pulled out of a white Camry but we didn’t think much of it.
“We went a bit closer and got told by the cops we had to turn around and they put the tape up.
“We walked around and saw two people get put into ambulances and we were told two men had been shot.”
Mr Soich described the victims as being average height caucasians and said he didn’t see who fired the shots.
“It was a bit confronting. There was a fair bit of blood as you’d expect when people have been shot,” he said.
The incident occurred in the car park next to the Upper Coomera Pizza Hut and the workers heard the gunshots and locked their doors but were unable to provide any further comment.
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