The sole survivor of a horrific mass shooting that left three members of the same family dead miraculously survived the horror ordeal making it several kilometers away to raise the alarm after being hit with a bullet in the stomach.
Mervyn and Maree Schwarz, and Maree’s son Graham Tighe, were shot dead at their rural property in the small mining town of Bogie, in the Whitsundays region of north Queensland, at about 9am on Thursday.
The gunman still remains on the loose as the public are warned to take extreme caution while police continue their desperate search for the triple murderer.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the family had only bought the huge 300-square-kilometre plot of land for $10million in May 2021, which is zoned for cattle grazing, breeding and farming purposes.
Investigators haven’t revealed what sparked the tragedy, but locals say there has been a heated dispute over property boundaries between neighbours in the area.
Graham Tighe’s younger brother Ross was able to alert police to the threat after escaping the chaos at the farm despite his life-threatening injuries.
Police said the blood-soaked victim made it to another property ‘many, many kilometres away’ and contacted authorities.
He was airlifted to Mackay Hospital in a critical condition and rushed into emergency surgery where he remains in a stable condition in the intensive care unit.
Maree and Mervyn Schwarz died from gunshots wounds, along with Maree’s son Graham Tighe. Another son is hospital
Maree Schwarz – who recently became a grandmother – was shot dead at the property on Shannonvale Rd, Bogie on Thursday. Her husband and one of her sons were also killed
‘He was able to tell police that he had been shot and three others (were) also shot,’ Mackay District Superintendent Tom Armitt said.
‘We believe the male was able to extract himself from the area. He was fleeing from the scene.’
Police said Mr Tighe was ‘obviously in a very distressed state’ when he originally spoke to officers.
This led to some initial confusion about where the scene of the crime took place.
‘We were able to conduct searches ourselves based on the scant information that was provided and we had to update the location as to where the incident occurred based on the crime scene that we located,’ Superintendent Armitt said.
After searching the area where he was found, police deemed the location safe ‘and a further exclusion zone was established at a property along Shannonvale Road where the shooting is believed to have occurred’.
Three people are dead while a gunman remains at large in North Queensland. A fourth person was also shot in the stomach and was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition
Mr and Mrs Schwarz, along with Graham Tighe, purchased the land last year – netting the previous owners a profit of almost $7million after holding onto the property for just three years.
Mrs Schwarz became a new grandmother just 18 months ago, sharing a photo of herself cradling the newborn with a beaming smile on her face.
Tragically, when word spread throughout the community of a shooting, several of Mrs Schwarz’ friends reached out via social media wishing her well.
‘Hope all are safe,’ one friend wrote on the notice, tagging Mrs Schwarz in her message.
Five people are currently assisting police with the early stages of the investigation to try and piece together what happened.
Multiple crime scenes were established throughout the small mining community of just 200 people and along Shannonvale Road.
Three members of the family were killed and another critically injured in the shooting in Bogie, near Bowen in north Queensland
Forensic specialists will return to the scenes on Friday morning to continue examining the regions for clues.
Police revealed on Thursday afternoon the rugged terrain had proven difficult to navigate and would pose further challenges throughout the course of the investigation.
An emergency declaration at a Bogie cattle farm remains in place.
‘We continue to process the crime scene and police do not believe there is any ongoing danger to the public,’ a spokesman said.
Whitsunday Regional Councillor Jan Clifford said ‘everybody knows everyone else’ in their ‘little village’, adding the community would be ‘devastated’.
‘To my knowledge, nothing like this has ever happened in the Whitsunday region before.
‘We are all deeply saddened by the tragedy.’
A woman who works on Peter Delamothe Road, which connects Bogie to Bowen, earlier told Daily Mail Australia she saw several police cars racing towards scene of the shooting.
‘I saw at least three police cars while I was outside and heard a few more sirens after that,’ she said.
‘It’s not usually what you see. I thought straight away that something bad had happened.’
It is understood doctors and nurses with blood supplies and other medical resources were sent from Bowen Hospital to Collinsville Hospital – the closest facility to the shooting – to assist.
Up to eight ambulances were dispatched from as far as Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.
Elly Colls, who works at Opal Ridge Motel, told the Guardian she learned of the incident at about 11am when someone rang to let them know there had been ‘a shooting at the Bogie’.
‘Better lock up the house,’ she said. ‘Cause I don’t think (they) found him.’
Other locals described the shooting as ‘unusual’ and ‘strange’ for the usually quiet area.
‘We’re traditional owners of this land around Collinsville. I wouldn’t have thought it could happen here. It’s a small town,’ one woman told The Courier Mail.
Another told AAP: ‘The whole town is a bit rattled that something like that could happen here.’
‘We don’t know the full story, but we’ve definitely heard about it. It’s a small town, everyone knows everyone.
‘But out in ‘the boge’? Well, it’s tiny.’
A rescue helicopter has been sent to Bogie in rural Queensland after four people were injured in a shooting
A helicopter is seen at the scene of a mass shooting in rural Queensland where three people were shot dead
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