A man fatally shot his aunt at a house in Brisbane’s north on Sunday while his mum was at the property, police say.
Officers were called to a Jambaroo Street property at Albany Creek about 5:30pm, where the bodies of Martin Fowler and his 77-year-old aunt Lois Witt were found.
Detective Acting Superintendent Craig Williams said the 46-year-old was a registered firearms licence holder and discharged “a number of shots”, killing the woman and himself.
He said an 88-year-old woman, Mr Fowler’s mum, was also at the property, but was not harmed in the “tragic incident”.
“So far investigations revealed that the male person was the son of the unharmed female in the house, he was a 46-year-old male and the deceased female was his aunty,” Acting Superintendent Williams said.
Acting Superintendent Williams said police attended the address and “had dealings with both parties in the preceding week”.
A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Police are encouraging anyone who may have seen or heard anything in the vicinity of Jambaroo Street to come forward.
Firearms, licence to form part of investigation
Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski described the incident as “absolutely tragic and truly horrendous”.
He said an investigation was underway with oversight from the coroner.
“We will be looking at everything including how it has been dealt with previously by police, the aspects of his firearms license [and] the firearms, I understand there is more than one firearm,” he said.
“What we will have to look at is what’s happened in this particular instance, in the vast majority of instances people that own firearm licences there are no issues, so we need to look at this in the context of what happened.”
Police Minister Mark Ryan said he had full confidence in the police investigation.
“The legislation is very strong when it comes to these matters, but obviously there is an investigation that needs to take place and if any changes need to be made the government is open to making those changes,” he said.
Live updates
‘It can affect all members of the community’
By Bridget Judd
Detective Acting Superintendent Williams says the “tragic incident” could impact “all members of the community”.
“We would ask anybody who is affected by this to reach out to Lifeline or support services.”
If you or anyone you know needs help:
This is where we’ll leave today’s live coverage.
Police attended the address in the week before deaths
By Bridget Judd
Detective Acting Superintendent Williams says police attended the address and “had dealings with both parties in the preceding week”.
Asked if there was any indication the firearm should have been removed from the property, he says it would be inappropriate to comment.
“The matter is still under investigation, it only occurred yesterday and we’re conducting inquiries with the family and all witnesses,” he says.
Family being assisted through ‘tragic incident’
By Bridget Judd
Detective Acting Superintendent Williams says the 88-year-old woman is assisting police with their inquiries.
“This is a tragic incident and we are assisting the family to the best of our ability,” he says.
Police say 46-year-old had registered firearms licence
By Bridget Judd
Detective Acting Superintendent Williams says the man had a registered firearms licence.
“It appears that the man… has used a weapon, a handgun that was registered to him, to discharge a number of shots, which has killed the 77-year-old female.
“He then used the firearm on himself and was deceased at the scene.”
Police are providing an update
By Bridget Judd
Detective Acting Superintendent Craig Williams is providing an update on investigations into the deaths of a man and a woman in Albany Creek, who were found with gunshot wounds last night.
He says a second woman, aged 88, was in the property and was unharmed.
“So far investigations revealed that the male person was the son of the unharmed female in the house, he was a 46-year-old male and the deceased female was his aunty,” he says.