Alleged gunman charged with three counts of murder after shooting at Bogie

The alleged gunman behind a horror mass shooting in North Queensland, which left three people dead and a fourth man critically injured, has been charged with three counts of murder.

The alleged gunman behind a horror mass shooting at a remote North Queensland cattle property on Thursday has been charged with three counts of murder.

He is expected to appear in court in Proserpine on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning Mackay Detective Inspector Tom Armitt gave more details about the alleged gunman Darryl Young, 59, and the events leading up to the shooting at a cattle farm at Bogie, near Bowen.

Mervyn, 71, and Maree Schwarz, 59, and her son Graham Tighe, 35, all died from their injuries, while Ross Tighe, aged in his 30s - Graham’s brother and Maree’s son - survived gunshot wounds to his stomach and underwent emergency surgery on Thursday night after being flown to Mackay Base Hospital.

Maree and Mervyn Schwarz.

Five people had been taken into police custody overnight on Thursday.

“Three other people were family of the property owner. Two of those persons have now subsequently been released and we have a 59-year-old man in custody who is a long-term resident of the area,” he said.

Det Insp Armitt said the tragedy may have been sparked by an earlier conversation.

“What we do know is that all parties are neighbours, some conversation has occurred between the parties and resulted in a meeting up at the parties’ boundary line earlier that morning when the incident occurred,” he said.

“We understand that there was a conversation the night before that was the reason they met the next morning.

Acting Superintendent Tom Armitt.

“What I can say is that there was an invitation for them to go there and discuss.

“It will be alleged that he was located on the property in question by police later on.

“At that point in time when we received the call we have no idea who or where the shooting offender was.

“We had to be mindful of our own safety and of the risk of police officers being shot.

“We were able to make contact with people on the property and organised taking them into custody

Det Insp Armitt said he couldn’t confirm if the shooting was an ambush on the family.

“All we know is that they were present on the property at that particular point in time,” he said.

Police leave Bowen station.

He said that the one escapee had driven some 40km to another property where he was collected by an emergency helicopter.Because of the 40km travelled, the Detective Inspector said that “it was a number of hours before (police) were able to establish where the incident occurred.”

“Police had to traverse a large amount of ground before we actually found where the scene was,” he said.

“Police drove forward into the crime scene not knowing whether the armed offender was present or not, putting their lives at great danger, especially when the report was that they had been shot with a rifle and that they were in danger of being shot from any distance whilst approaching the crime scene.”

A police car on Sutherland Road, Bogie. Photo - Alana Tacey

Det Insp Armitt said police were urging anyone who was in the area at the time of the shootings to come forward.

“We’re seeking persons in that area, particularly about any issues that were going on out there at the time, the movement of vehicles in and out of the area at that time - if they could come forward and make contact with police,” he said.

Police have confirmed they were able to speak with the sole survivor again on Friday morning.

He remains in Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition.

Mr Tighe managed to flee the bloody scene at Bogie to a homestead “many, many kilometres away” and raise the alarm.

It is understood the shooting occurred on a Sutherland Rd cattle property at Bogie on Thursday morning.

Councillor for Division 6 of the Whitsunday Regional Council, Mike Brunker, said the community was “dumbfounded” that such a horrific event could occur in their area.

“It sounds like something you’d see in America,” he said.

He said the community in the immediate area “would be over the moon” to know the person police believe to be responsible is now in custody.

Cr Brunker said the Schwarz family had moved from the Clermont area within the past 12 months.

Police Minister Mark Ryan described the shooting as “confronting”.

The Bogie property at the centre of the fatal shooting.

“Queensland and Australia have relatively safe places because of our strong gun laws. This is a tragedy on so many levels,” Mr Ryan said.

“Obviously there’s a police investigation. Hopefully, that investigation is completed soon so that we can provide closure to the family who have lost loved ones in particular in this case.”

He added that it was an ongoing investigation into the “tragedy”.

“There is an ongoing police investigation,” Mr Ryan said.

“Police have provided some updates but we do have to let that investigation run so that police can be very thorough in getting all of the evidence they need so that they can deliver justice in particular in this case.”

A man seriously injured arrived on a rescue helicopter after four people were shot in Bogie, north west of Mackay. Photo: Zoe Devenport

He said everyone would be thinking of the family and friends of the victims.

“I think all Queenslanders, all Australians, their thoughts and prayers will be with the family at this point,” Mr Ryan said.

Inspector Armitt said police had been alerted to the shooting about 9am by the surviving family member who fled the scene to a homestead.

“He was able to tell police that he had been shot and three others (were) also shot,” Inspector Armitt said.

Inspector Armitt said Special Emergency Response Team officers had conducted clearances over an “extensive area” that included a Sutherland Rd property on Thursday.

“It has taken a number of hours for police to search and clear the area, however we have declared a crime scene in the remote rural location where we believe we have located three deceased persons,” he said.

One of the homes at the Bogie property.

“In an area where you have firearms involved we have to establish our own personal safety.”

Members of the public were urged to avoid the area, with an emergency declaration made about 11.30am, with boundaries encompassing Sutherland Rd, Normanby Rd, Mount Compton Rd and Starvation Creek.

That emergency declaration was revoked at 10.06pm on Thursday, police say.

Inspector Armitt said there had been some confusion when they initially spoke to the injured man but after conducting searches, the emergency declaration was changed to just the Sutherland Rd property.

“(Police are) actively searching the area and commencing our investigations into the circumstances and how it came to be that these people have been shot,” Inspector Armitt said.

“We believe that the person who has shot them may be still in the area, which is why we are conducting our own searches at this current time.”  

A rescue helicopter lands at the scene of a shooting at Bogie, in north Queensland. Picture: Nine News

A Bogie resident said the incident was linked to a property dispute between the owners of two properties in the area. He said it was not the first dispute between those involved.

Bogie is a small mining town in the Whitsundays near Collinsville.

It has a population of just over 200 people, according to the latest census data.

Locals from Bowen and Collinsville described the shooting as “unusual” and “strange” for the generally quiet area.

Bowen resident Shontai McLennan said she was very surprised to hear of the unfolding situation.

“We’re traditional owners of this land around Collinsville. I wouldn’t have thought it could happen here. It’s a small town,” she said.

Warren Davidson, of Redcliffe, said he had been approaching Bowen from Ingham and saw multiple emergency vehicles.

“Then we heard it on the CB radio that there’d been a shooting. It’s pretty shocking,” Mr Davidson said.

A new emergency declaration established at 2.50pm Thursday.

Originally published as Alleged gunman charged with three counts of murder after shooting at Bogie