Four teenagers have been taken into custody after opening fire in a small town in southern Queensland near the site of the Wieambilla shooting in December.
Police were called to reports of a shooting in Tara about 3.30pm on Wednesday and declared an exclusion zone covering several blocks in the centre of town at 5.30pm.
Officers said initial information indicated that teens fired at least eight or nine shots at three vehicles on Smallacombe Street.
Bullets were fired through windscreens, and police confirmed there were several pedestrians in the area when the shots were fired.
Up to 30 police from across the region responded to the incident, coming from towns including Roma, Kingaroy and Toowoomba.
Authorities later revoked the emergency declaration and said four local boys aged 14, 15, 16 and 16, were assisting police with their investigations.
The two 16-year-olds have since been charged after refusing to be interviewed by investigating officers, and police have not uncovered the motive.
One teen was released, and one cautioned under the Youth Justice Act.
All four were known to police, and two were siblings. The firearm was later found stashed in the ceiling of a home nearby.
Police said the teens were found at a Tara residence on Wednesday night and taken into custody without incident.
No one was injured.
Superintendent Ray Vine said the incident was extremely serious.
“People could have been seriously injured or worse as a result of this incident,” he said.
“It’s completely unacceptable and reckless behaviour during this thing happened, like a month after the (Wieambilla) incident.”
Tara is about 40km from the Wieambilla scene of the deadly ambush that ended with the deaths of six people in December 2022.
Queensland Police Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were shot dead after pulling up to a rural property for a welfare check.
Neighbour Alan Dare was also gunned down in a confrontation sparked when conspiracy theorists Gareth Train, his partner Stacey Train and brother Nathaniel Train opened fire upon their approach.
The trio were later shot dead by police.
Supt Vine said it had been confronting for police officers forced to deal with a second incident involving firearms in a matter of weeks.
“Their heroics and their results to protect the community and maintain community safety, given the events of five and a half weeks ago, is remarkable,” he said.
“It’s quite confronting to deal with two incidents in a short period of time in a small community.”
The two teens charged are expected to appear in a Dalby court on Thursday.
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