Mervyn and Maree Schwarz have been identified by local media as two of the three killed in the shooting. Photo / Supplied
Mervyn and Maree Schwarz have been identified by local media as two of the three killed in the shooting. Photo / Supplied
The family killed in a horror shooting that left three dead in North Queensland have been identified.
Mervyn and Maree Schwarz and her son Graham Tighe were killed on remote farmland in the town of Bogie, the Mackay Daily Mercury reported.
Ross Tighe - Graham's brother - survived the shootingand is fighting for life. He is said to have fled the scene of the shooting before calling for help.
ighe - Graham's brother - survived the shooting and is fighting for life. He is said to have fled the scene of the shooting before calling for help.
The RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter was one of the first emergency services to respond to the incident. Photo / RACQ CQ Rescue
Earlier on Thursday, Mackay District Superintendent Tom Armitt said the gunman was still on the run in the area.
"We believe that the person who has shot them may be still in the area, which is why we are conducting our own searches at this current time," he said.
Armitt added that they were alerted to the shooting by the surviving victim, later identified as Ross Tighe.
"He was able to tell police that he had been shot and three others [were] also shot.
"We believe the male was able to extract himself from the area... He was fleeing from the scene."
Police said they could not confirm any motives for the shooting and whether the shooter or shooters were still armed.
However, reports from the Courier-Mail suggest the incident was linked to a property dispute.
Emergency crews were called to a property in Bogie – a small outback mining town in the Whitsundays near Collinsville – at 8.54am on Thursday.
Queensland Police first received a call from the injured man around 9am, who reported that multiple people had been injured near Collinsville, west of Airlie Beach. After finding the sole survivor in a vehicle at Flagstone, an emergency declaration was made at 11.30am under the Public Safety Preservation Act, with boundaries encompassing Sutherland Rd, Normanby Rd, Mount Compton Rd and Starvation Creek.
Police are urging members of the public to avoid the area as the incident is still unfolding.
Opal Ridge Motel staff member Elly Colls told the Guardian she was alerted to the incident at 11am.
Bogie's population is 207 people, according to the latest census data.
Locals from nearby Bowen and Collinsville described the incident as "unusual" and "strange" for the usually quiet area.
"There haven't been many shootings there [Bogie] before … it's very unusual," a business owner in Collinsville said.
Queensland Ambulance Service reportedly sent eight crews to the scene.
In a now deleted tweet, RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter said it was "responding to reports of four people injured in an alleged shooting west of Collinsville".
