Two gunmen have barricaded themselves inside a central Brisbane apartment building with the surrounding streets on lockdown, police said.
Police said one shot was fired at officers when they tried to enter the unit in order to investigate ‘a number of property offences’.
Speaking to reporters outside the building at 2pm local time, Inspector Tony Ridge said they were still trying to negotiate with the men to come out.
Two gunman have holed themselves up inside a central Brisbane apartment building with the surrounding streets on lockdown, police said
Queensland Police issued an emergency declaration in Auchenflower, west of the city’s CBD, shortly after 11am on Monday.
It was initially thought shots were fired in Coronation Drive, near the banks of the Brisbane River. Police are on the scene
A resident of the Chasely Apartments Hotel in Auchenflower looks out of his balcony, the same building in which two armed people are believed to be holed up in Brisbane
Passers-by posted pictures of the scene on social media, with one user saying it looked like the river had been completely shut down (pictured police boat on Brisbane River)
The alert was issued shortly after 12pm and encompasses the boundaries of Coronation Drive, Lang Parade, Dunmore Terrace and Chasely Street, back to Coronation Drive and Coronation Drive up to Land Street.
Police are focusing their operation around the Chasely Apartment Hotel at the junction of Coronation Drive and Chasely Street.
People have been urged to avoid the area.
A ‘Code Brown’ alert has also been issued for the nearby Wesley Hospital – which tells staff the site faces an ‘external threat’.
The hospital has not been placed into lockdown, though, and the building is still accessible.
Buses operated by TransLink have been diverted around the area, and City Cats boats have been suspended between Milton and Regatta ferry terminals.
Passers-by posted pictures of the scene on social media, with one user saying it looked like the river had been completely shut down.
More to come
A police motorbike could be seen parked between traffic outside The Regatta Hotel – on the corner of Coronation Drive and Sylvan Road