Sydney, Feb 6 (IANS) A man has been hospitalised after being shot in the head with a homemade weapon in eastern Australia on Thursday.
Police in Australia’s state of Queensland on Thursday made an emergency declaration after being called to reports of a shooting at a property in the Tallebudgera Valley, about 80 km south of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, at midday local time on Thursday.
A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his shoulder and head and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Queensland Police Chief Inspector Les Bulluss told reporters that a homemade shotgun was fired during an argument between two men at the remote property.
“It’s a handmade shotgun. It’s very well made and it’s something that’s quite concerning,” he said.
“The weapon’s made out of piping.”
Police have established a crime scene and deployed specialist officers and a helicopter to the property to search for the suspected shooter, Xinhua news agency reported.
Residents of the area have been advised to stay indoors and members of the public asked to avoid a police exclusion zone.
Police in South Australia (SA) have also established a new task force to combat violent crimes committed by youth gangs.
SA Police announced the new Youth and Street Gangs Task Force on Wednesday as part of a boost to police resources allocated to investigating youth crime, domestic and family violence, cybercrime and retail theft.
Commissioner Grant Stevens said that the new task force would respond to crimes as well as undertake preventive and rehabilitative work.
“Youth crime is not just about the criminality, but the recruitment of younger members, so the task force provides an opportunity to break this cycle,” he said in a statement.
“This permanent task force will disrupt and reduce the criminal activities of a target group of offenders, particularly focusing on crimes of violence that pose a significant risk to community safety.”
The task force has been formed by merging two existing police operations and adding 13 police officers to its ranks.
SA Police data released earlier in January revealed that the number of crimes committed by offenders aged 10-17 rose by 140 per cent from 6,938 in 2018-19 to 16,710 in 2023-24.
–IANS
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