Six people, including two police officers, killed in gunfight in rural Australia

Six people were killed, including two police officers, at a remote property in Australia's Queensland state, authorities said on Tuesday. The police had visited the place to investigate reports of a missing person. The police said that three people, including a woman, were shot dead after specialist officers and air support responded to a siege situation at the property.A member of the public was also killed in the incident.

Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters that the offenders responsible for the incident are still at large and requested the local residents to stay indoors “until further notice”. “We are an organisation in mourning tonight,” Carroll said according to The Guardian.

The incident took place when the police officers were called to a property at Wains Road in the Western Downs region in connection to a missing person case involving a man from New South Wales. The area is around 270 km away from Brisbane and Carroll said that four officers travelled to the scene.

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While two police officers were killed on the spot, the third officer suffered a bullet wound that grazed past him. ABC News reported that he is currently receiving treatment in a hospital.

“While we are yet to learn the full extent of what has occurred today, we do know this event is extraordinarily distressing on many levels,” Carroll said in the media briefing. “Those officers paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our community safe. It is, sadly, a reminder of the unpredictable nature of policing and the incredible dangers our officers face while protecting our community.”

The Western Downs regional council mayor, Paul McVeigh, also informed the media that the officers who responded to the call belonged to the towns of Tara and Chinchilla.

“It’s an absolute tragedy in our community,” McVeigh told Guardian Australia.