A young man has been stabbed to death in a brazen daylight attack outside a gym in Brisbane, with police describing the ambush as “confronting and horrific”.
The 23-year-old man was killed after being “hunted down” in the carpark of a gym at Mansfield by five men, who dragged him from his vehicle before stabbing him multiple times.
“Initial investigations suggest the man was driving a white Mercedes outside of a business located on Pine Mountain Road, when he was confronted by two vehicles, a black Audi A3 hatchback and a white Nissan Patrol just before 1pm,” Queensland Police said.
“A group of five males exited the vehicles and proceeded to pull the man from his car and assault him”.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham said the attack, which happened “probably in less than five seconds” was all caught on CCTV.
He said the motive remained unclear at this stage, with officers still investigating whether it was planned or random, with reports an earlier road rage incident may have sparked it.
Officers are also not ruling out possible links to outlaw motorcycle gangs.
“Whether there was some road rage type incident further down, we’re still looking at that,” Det Supt Massinghmam said.
“But certainly, it came to a culmination in the car park here and what was clear was their intent to cause significant harm to this individual”.
Four of the males fled the scene in the Nissan Patrol, with the fifth running on foot towards Flame Tree Court.
He was taken into custody a short time later not far from where the alleged murder occurred after being tracked down by the dog squad.
He is now assisting police with inquiries.
Det Supt Massingham said it was a brazen attack and is appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
“These males were extremely motivated to hunt this individual down,” Det Supt Massingham said.
“This incident was fully captured on CCTV… I have viewed that CCTV and it is confronting and horrific.”
Police are urging anyone who may see the Nissan Patrol and its occupants not to approach it, but to call Triple Zero immediately.
If you have information for Police, please contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using their online form 24 hours per day.
You can also report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24 hours per day. Crime Stoppers is a registered charity and community volunteer organisation.
