Toowoomba teen Karleeah Marie Jensen jailed for gruesome shotgun shooting in Oaks hotel room

It has been revealed what happened inside a Toowoomba hotel room when a sawn-off shotgun blasted a 16-year-old girl, almost severing her arm and left her fighting for life.

Troubled Toowoomba teen, Karleeah Marie Jensen, was sentenced to a three and a half year jail term on February 28, 2024, for accidentally shooting her friend in a hotel room at The Oaks Toowoomba Hotel. Picture: Social media

While a 16-year-old girl was bleeding out in the corridor of a hotel, the teenager who accidentally blasted her arm off with a sawn-off gun was hiding evidence and concocting a cover story instead of helping, a court has heard.

The shooting occurred at The Oaks Hotel Toowoomba on February 14, 2023, inside a room rented by the shooter, then 18-year-old Karleeah Marie Jensen.

A number of Jensen’s friends were visiting her, including her ex-boyfriend who was 14-years her senior and had a significant criminal history.

When Jensen was sentenced to a three and a half year jail term on Wednesday, February 28, the court heard she bought the firearm for protection, as she was attacked by a drug dealer in the past.

Unknown to her, the 12 gauge Harrington and Richardson single action shotgun was defective, and police testing showed the trigger did not need to be pressed for it to fire.

FLESH AND BONE FRAGMENTS SPLATTERED ACROSS ROOM

Defence barrister Jessica Goldie told the court although it was Jensen’s gun, she was unaware that her ex-boyfriend had moved it from a “safe house” on the Sunshine Coast and placed it in a wall cavity under the bathroom sink. Police also found the man’s fingerprints on the door to the sink.

The court was told Jensen said she removed the loaded gun from the wall because she planned to confront the man and his friend about it, but before they returned to the room four people came to visit her.

The court heard Jensen and another person had been playing with the gun in the living room and kitchen area and it went off in Jensen’s hands when she went to put it away.

The discharge of the firearm severely injured the victim, a 16-year-old girl, while the victim’s mother, who was also in the room, suffered shrapnel wounds.

The crime scene established near the Toowoomba CBD on Annand St where unspent round were found after being thrown from the room.

Despite the girl’s obvious serious injury and a large amount of blood, Judge Paul Smith said Jensen began covering her tracks.

“(She was) pacing back and forward, swearing, and repeatedly saying to her, ‘sorry’,” he said.

“Everyone but (Jensen) left the room and walked with (the girl) down the hallway, it was obvious she was bleeding out, her arm was swinging loosely.

“She was in significant pain and near death.”

INTRODUCED TO METH AT AGE 9

Ms Goldie said Jensen was first introduced to meth at the age of nine after her mother kicked her out of home for making highly concerning accusations against a male family member.

Four days before the shooting, Jensen was released from police custody on probation after she pleaded guilty to a number of drug related charges. The court heard the now 19-year-old, was staying at the hotel because she was homeless.

Judge Smith said while the group was attempting to stop the bleeding with towels and calling emergency services, Jensen began hiding evidence.

“You scrambled to hide the evidence and concoct a fake story about a firework discharging in the room,” he said.

“When police entered the room they saw bone and tissue fragments around the room.”

Jensen told officers she was feeling faint and had ringing in her ears following the ‘firework’ going off, and was taken to the hospital where she broke down in tears after seeing pools of blood in a hallway where the girl was treated.

She later came clean about the gun and told officers it was thrown from a window, however it was found hidden under an airconditioning unit.

The court heard Jensen had been struggling with a meth addiction following a traumatic childhood.

SHRAPNEL WOUNDS TO BREAST

Judge Smith said it was unknown if the girl’s arm was successfully saved following multiple surgeries because she was refusing to talk to police.
He said the girl’s mother and friend of Jensen had shrapnel wounds to her breasts and chest.

“Your behaviour was grossly negligent and reckless,” he said.

“The exact circumstances of the discharge cannot be ascertained with precision but you were holding it while it was discharged.

“You had a duty to take reasonable care and to take reasonable precautions while holding it and failed to do so resulting in (the teen) suffering life-threatening injuries and only surviving due to emergency and medical intervention.
“If that had not happened she would have bled out and died in the hotel.”

At the Toowoomba District Court on February 28, Jensen pleaded guilty to a number of charges relevant the incident which included dangerous conduct with a category 8 weapon, grievous bodily harm, and the unlawful possession of ammunition.

Judge Smith sentenced the young mother, born and raised in Toowoomba, to a three and a half year jail term and declared the 379 days she had spent in pre-sentence custody as time served.

The court heard Jensen had already completed every course available to her while in jail.