A young girl has been orphaned after watching her father being killed during a violent home invasion over a suspected drug debt.
Michael Menzel, 48, died after being shot in the leg at his home in Gleneagle, south of Brisbane in a targeted attack shortly before 6am on Monday.
His 13-year-old daughter was inside the house for hours after paramedics took her father’s body away.
‘Although she wouldn’t have known at that stage her father was dead, she’s seen paramedics working really hard trying to keep him alive, significant blood loss, so she’s got the trauma of that to deal with,’ Jim Ploughman from Queensland Police said.
The girl, whose mother only recently died, is now being cared for by her grandparents.
A young girl (pictured) who watched as her father was shot dead during a violent home invasion is now an orphan after losing her mother
Michael Menzel (pictured) died after being shot in the leg when his home in Gleneagle, 70km south of Brisbane, was stormed shortly before 6am on Monday
Police are hunting four people who fled the scene in a black Holden Commodore utility with no registration plates.
The attack was over a drug debt and Mr Menzel was known to police, according to 9 News.
Friends and family of Mr Menzel gathered out the front of his home on Brittany Court to grieve, as neighbours revealed they were too afraid to return home in the wake of the tragedy.
Neighbours said Mr Menzel was a ‘kind hearted man’, who ‘everyone knew’.
‘He looked after my two little girls sometimes, he’s done a lot for me,’ friend Lisa Reilly said.
‘I only saw him last week and then this happens.’
The girl (pictured in a social media photo) is now being cared for by her grandparents
Brittany Court, Gleneagle was swarmed with emergency crews after the home invasion on Monday mornin
Neighbour Billie Beever told Daily Mail Australia Mr Menzel’s family and friends had been crying out the front of his home during the day, mourning a man she described as lovely and eager to help out.
She said his daughter’s mother had died earlier in her life, meaning the 13-year-old is now an orphan. She did not say how the mother died.
Ms Beever said she was planning to move in the wake of the attack, and was afraid to return home.
‘I don’t really want to go home to be honest, like they’re not going to come back, but… it’s just like you don’t even know who lives next to you,’ she said.
‘Why does someone have a gun?’
The mother-of-one said she often saw Mr Menzel out the front of his home with his dog, and that he would always smile and wave to others as he passed them on the street.
‘He always waved to me, he was a nice, normal neighbour,’ she said.
‘I saw him and his mates and some kids on the street as we left for dinner last night… It’s scary knowing that can happen right next door and you wouldn’t even realise.
‘I’m moving. F*** that.’
Other neighbours described the man as ‘the nicest on this street’, and a ‘great mate’ with a ‘big heart’.
Neighbours have been left shaken over the ordeal, which happened in Brittany Court, Gleneagle, 70km south of Brisbane
Emergency crews were called to the home at about 6am and treated Mr Menzel for a gunshot wound.
Inspector Jim Plowman told reports Mr Menzel’s young daughter had remained at the scene and watched on as emergency workers tried to save her father’s life.
He was treated by paramedics at the scene but died just after 7am.
Mr Menzel’s housemate, 40, was taken to hospital with minor injuries after being bashed over the head with a hammer.
A black, new model, Holden Commodore utility with no registration plates was seen leaving the address in Brittany Court and was later spotted on the neighbouring Mount Lindesay Highway.
Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen the vehicle near Brittany Court before 6am– or has dash camera footage or CCTV – to come forward.
One resident said the area around the home is referred to as an ‘ice rink’ due to the prevalence of meth in the town.
Emergency crews were called to the home at about 6am and treated Mr Menzel for a gunshot wound