Disturbing audio of gunshots firing allegedly sent to LNP federal election candidate Jeremy Neal

A candidate competing in the federal election says he has been sent a disturbing audio message featuring the sound of gunshots.

A chilling audio message with the sounds of gunshots ringing out has reportedly been sent to the phone of LNP Leichhardt candidate Jeremy Neal.

The unverified five-minute message, heard by NewsWire, features multiple loud gunshots.

A loud gunshot is heard, and then a smaller echo rings out.

The sound of gunfire continues for the remainder of the message. No words are spoken.

Mr Neal said he received the message last week from a number he did not recognise.

NewsWire understands a similar message was also sent to Annette Swaine, the Coalition’s candidate for the seat of Kennedy.

Both messages have been reported to the police.

“This was a very disturbing message to receive and my immediate response was to check on the safety of my family, before reporting it to the police,” Mr Neal said.

“It’s a sad fact that criminal activity has become all too normal in our region, where youth crime in particular is frankly out of control.

“As a paramedic, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of this and as a candidate, it’s an issue that is raised with me time and time again by locals.

“This incident, while disturbing, is a good reminder of why we need strong leadership and strong laws to tackle this significant issue.”

The Donald Trump-aligned candidate is competing for the far north Queensland seat in the May 3 election following the retirement of long-serving LNP representative Warren Entsch.

The seat is held by the Coalition on a 3.4 per cent margin and is a key Labor target.

Mr Neal is going up against Labor candidate Matt Smith.

A corflute featuring Mr Neal's face was defaced with the word 'fascist'. Picture: Supplied

Phillip Musumeci is competing for the Greens, Greg Dowling for the Trumpet of Patriots, Les Searle for Family First, Daniel Collins for Katter’s Australian Party, Lloyd Russell for Libertarian and Robert Hicks for One Nation.

The 148,559 sqkm electorate stretches from Cairns in the south to cover the northern tip of the state and the Torres Strait islands.

In the 2022 contest, Mr Entsch secured 36.7 per cent of the primary vote, while Labor challenger Elida Faith secured 27.6 per cent.

Mr Entsch won the seat with 53.4 per cent of the vote after preferences.

The audio message is not the first form of harassment Mr Neal has suffered on the campaign trail.

A campaign corflute featuring his face has been defaced with the term “fascist”.

Originally published as Disturbing audio of gunshots firing allegedly sent to LNP federal election candidate Jeremy Neal