Man Fatally Shot in Beenleigh Park, Suspect Arrested After Pursuit

A 35-year-old man was fatally shot in the chest at Hugh Muntz Park in Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, on Tuesday night, prompting a police pursuit that ended with the arrest of a 22-year-old suspect hiding submerged in a pond on the northern Gold Coast.

Emergency services responded to the park around 10:40 p.m. following reports of gunfire. The victim, identified as a resident of Bahrs Scrub, was found near Morrison Lane with a gunshot wound to his chest. Officers and paramedics provided treatment at the scene, but he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, according to Detective Acting Superintendent Paul Fletcher.

Police quickly identified a stolen white Kia Stonic sedan with stolen registration plates as the vehicle that fled the area moments after the shooting. Officers tracked the car northward to the Gold Coast, spotting it on Kumbari Avenue in Labrador around 1:30 a.m. A brief pursuit ensued, during which authorities deployed a tire deflation device on Jabiru Island. The sedan continued for a short distance before the driver abandoned it at the intersection of Hope Island Road and Helensvale Road and fled into nearby scrub.

Dog squad officers then swept the bushland,...