Australia: Two injured in shooting south of Brisbane

In the quiet early hours of Friday, 31 October, the calm of Park Ridge — a suburb 26 km south of Brisbane — was shattered by the crack of gunfire. What began as another still night turned into chaos when bullets ripped through a residence in a chilling drive-by shooting.

Queensland Police said emergency services rushed to the scene around 1:20 am, where two people were found injured. An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition, while a 20-year-old woman suffered non-life-threatening wounds. Both were victims, police confirmed, of gunfire fired from a passing vehicle.

Authorities have since cordoned off the area, declaring a crime scene as detectives sift through the evidence. “There is no ongoing threat to the public,” officials assured, even as questions linger about the motive behind the brazen assault.

The violent episode adds to a string of recent firearm-related incidents unsettling Australian suburbs. Earlier this month, police in New South Wales (NSW) responded to a series of eerie midnight scenes — homes and vehicles ablaze, the air punctured by the echo of gunshots.

In Cabramatta, west of Sydney, flames engulfed a house and car around 12:45 am on 16 October. Fire crews doused the blaze, but both structures were left gutted. Bullet casings were later recovered near the site, hinting at a sinister prelude to the fire.

Just days later, in Sydney’s southwest, residents of Green Valley awoke to reports of gunfire and a car set ablaze on North Liverpool Road. Officers arriving at the scene found shell casings scattered across the road — evidence of several shots fired into the air before the vehicle was doused.

While no casualties were reported in the Sydney incidents, the spate of late-night violence has stirred unease across communities once thought immune to such scenes.

For now, the Queensland police are piecing together the fragments of Friday’s attack — a night when gunfire once again echoed through suburban stillness, leaving behind the hum of sirens and the haunting smell of smoke.

With IANS inputs