The gunman accused of killing Queensland policeman Brett Forte has died after being taken into custody at the end of a 21-hour siege.
Police had detained Rick Maddison before noon on a rural property at Seventeen Mile in the Lockyer Valley and he was being treated for an injury.
Now the man, who allegedly shot dead Senior Constable Forte on Monday afternoon, is dead after taking several shots to the chest.
Original report: A siege is continuing with a man who shot and killed Queensland police officer Brett Forte during a traffic stop west of Brisbane.
Senior Constable Forte was killed after a “wanted man” evaded police in a traffic stop at Seventeen Mile in the Lockyer Valley just before 2pm on Monday.
Police have been negotiating with the suspected gunman – named in the media as Rick Maddison – holed up in a farm house near Gatton. It’s believed Maddison is armed with a machine gun.
‘This guy they are after, he has got serious history,’ Queensland Police Union CEO Ian Leavers told Nine on Tuesday, without going into details.
Commissioner Ian Stewart told a press conference late on Monday night that police wanted to resolve the stand-off “as peacefully as humanly possible”.
Police have cordoned off a large section of the area, forcing some locals to sleep in their cars.
Sne Const Forte’s death came after a police pursuit involving Maddison on Tuesday afternoon.
A police source said Maddison got out of his car during the chase and shot Sen Const Forte before driving down a dirt road at Seventeen Mile.
He also fired at a police helicopter while entering the farm house.
Nine said neighbours had heard gunfire coming from Maddison’s property over the last couple of months.
‘On average you would hear gunshots over there at least one, two nights a week,’ one said.
A neighbour, Kyal, told Seven events unfolded rapidly and they were ordered out of their homes at 5.30pm.
‘Everybody just can’t believe how quick it unravelled and how close it is to home,” he said.
‘For it to be so close to everybody and just to think that he can happen in your backyard just like that. It’s kind of really scary.’
