Chaotic night in Surfers as police close off streets, bomb squad searches Bruce Bishop carpark

A large part of Surfers Paradise was shut by police for more than four hours and bomb squad officers called in last night in an incident ‘directly linked’ to a dramatic bomb threat at Brisbane Airport.

OFFICERS from the police bomb squad went vehicle to vehicle in a Surfers Paradise carpark last night after a bomb threat shut down several blocks of the party precinct.

The Emergency Ordnance Response Team members were called to inspect vehicles in the Bruce Bishop carpark amid fears it contained a car belonging to a man involved in a serious incident at Brisbane airport earlier in the evening.

Surrounding streets were closed and buildings evacuated by police shortly after 8.30pm, leaving members of the public unable to reach their cars or hotel rooms waiting hours on the side of the street.

A bomb squad officer checking vehicles in the Bruce Bishop carpark.

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In the earlier Brisbane Airport incident, a man threatened a woman with a knife and claimed to have a bomb.

The man, who is believed to be a resident of Surfers Paradise, was shot by police with nonlethal rounds and taken into custody.

Police feared the man had left a vehicle in the Bruce Bishop carpark which may have contained bomb-making materials, prompting them to evacuate the carpark and surrounding buildings a short time later.

A police bomb squad vehicle arriving in Surfers Paradise.

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A police officer at the scene said there was a “direct link” between the Surfers threat and the Brisbane Airport incident.

“There is a link,” the officer said.

“There is a vehicle linked to him that is here (in Surfers) and it looked like he had some sort of detonator.”

The officer could not say how many officers had been called into the situation but added:

“This is heavily resourced. They are taking it very seriously.”

A block of Surfers Paradise from Peninsula Drive down to Hamilton Ave stretching from the Gold Coast Highway was evacuated and cordoned off.

The area closed off included a number of popular businesses including The Island and Brooklyn Depot, which were evacuated as the police operation took place.

Those businesses were today starting to count the cost of the lockdown.

One operator of the Brooklyn Depot burger joint who had to evacuate his venue said: “That’s cost me about $3000.”

Police in Surfers Paradise this evening after a bomb threat was made.

The lockdown also caused frustration among patrons, dozens of whom were left waiting on the street for more than four hours as the police continued to work in the Bruce Bishop carpark.

One woman was seen asking police for “any chance” to access her car as she had kids waiting at home.

Another woman, who did not want to be named, patrons hadn’t been told anything about what was going on before being asked to leave The Island bar.

“They just came in and told us we all had to leave, it’s something in the car park behind,” she said.

“They’ve cleared out the neighbourhood.”

The Island was among the premises evacuated.

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Nicolinis restaurant manager Toni Celona said police had evacuated buildings in the area and his staff couldn’t get their cars out.

Two Surfers Paradise fire trucks were parked on Peninsula Drive on standby with two ambulance vehicles.

“We’ve been told to wait here for further instructions,” one firefighter said.

A backpacker walking home from a night in Surfers told someone on her mobile: “We’re walking back to hostel, bit of a rubbish Saturday night.”

Police blocking a street in Surfers Paradise this evening.

One patron, who asked to be quoted anonymously, said she had been stopped by police just after 9pm, while trying to collect her car.

“I asked what was going on, and he said it was connected to what was going on in Brisbane,” she said.

“He just said to connect the dots.”

The lockdown finally ended at 1.45am when bomb squad officers, who had arrived at the scene around midnight, completed their checks on vehicles on all four levels of the Bruce Bishop car park.

There were cheers from weary members of the public as the bomb squad vehicles departed.

There was also a heavy police presence at Gold Coast Airport last night following the incident in Brisbane.

An airport spokesperson confirmed police had taken “precautionary measures” following information received about the Gold Coast Airport.

The spokesperson said the airport was expected to operate as normal on Sunday.