Source : Perth Now news
A quiet afternoon turned into an hour of terror on Wednesday when a man allegedly carried out a violent rampage across Queensland’s Bundaberg region, leaving an elderly dog walker dead and two others injured.
The chaotic spree ended only when bystanders tackled and restrained a 36-year-old suspect in the streets of Childers.
The sequence of events began about 1.45pm on the Bruce Highway at Glenorchy, about 238km north of Brisbane.
Police allege the suspect, driving a silver Subaru Liberty, intentionally backed into a Tesla before launching a verbal tirade at the driver and speeding away.
Less than an hour later, the violence escalated dramatically. At 2.30pm, the Subaru was seen in Childers, where it rammed a Mitsubishi Pajero on North St.
When the Pajero’s 65-year-old driver stepped out to assess the damage, the suspect allegedly reversed into him, exited his own vehicle, and repeatedly struck the older man in the head before fleeing the scene.
Minutes later, the alleged rampage turned fatal. Driving out to North Isis, the alleged attacker targeted a 78-year-old local who was out for his routine daily walk.
The elderly man was brutally struck down with a metal pole on White Bridge Rd and died at the scene.
The suspect then sped back into Childers, where at about 2.55pm he allegedly began strangling a 66-year-old man with a garden hose at a busy intersection.
Local residents intervened to pin the man down before a police officer rushed in to make the arrest.
The two surviving victims were rushed to Bundaberg Hospital. The 65-year-old suffered severe head and neck trauma, while the 66-year-old sustained facial and neck injuries.
Detectives have established multiple crime scenes and confirmed that none of the victims were known to their alleged attacker.
The 36-year-old remains in custody assisting with inquiries.
A close family friend remembered the victim as a well-liked local who was always quick to wave to neighbors.
“He was a very nice guy, very friendly and outgoing,” he told the Courier Mail.
“He was always walking his dog, taking him out for daily walks. He was friendly every time we drove past, he’d always wave at us. It’s sad what has happened.”
The friend added that the elderly man “walked down that street pretty much every single day.”
Anyone with dashcam footage or information is urged to call Crime Stoppers.
