Toowoomba Courthouse put in lockdown after reports of woman armed with knife

Just days after a police shooting, a woman has been tasered outside the front of a regional Queensland courthouse after reports she was brandishing a knife.

The Toowoomba Courthouse was placed in lockdown on Thursday morning after reports a woman brandished a knife outside the building.

Darling Downs City Patrol Group Inspector Paul James said the woman left the Toowoomba Police Station and was heading to the courthouse when she was stopped by police at security.

Video captured by News Corp Australia shows the woman being taken into custody after she was tasered.

Witnesses at the scene reported seeing the woman wielding the knife from across the road.

She had blood coming from her nose to her chin.

Inside the courthouse, visitors were heard screaming and were seen running for safety inside various courtrooms and bathrooms.

The courthouse was reopened shortly after the incident and court proceedings resumed.

Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics also attended the scene, and the woman was reportedly taken from the courthouse on a stretcher, accompanied by police.

It comes just days after a man in his 50s was shot by police while allegedly brandishing a knife outside Kingaroy Hospital’s emergency department.

Following the incident, Queensland Police Union boss Ian Leavers called for a Royal Commission into mental health.

“The health department is funded nationally and the state’s administer the funds accordingly so I believe this is a national issue … we are seeing people who are affected by mental health who need treatment and have travelled between states and different jurisdictions,” he said.

“Mental health is something that the police deal with on a daily basis … we need to look at the greater issue of mental health within society and address it and provide treatment not incarceration.”

Originally published as Toowoomba Courthouse put in lockdown after reports of woman armed with knife