Police have appealed for calm after friends and families of those hurt in a deadly brawl in northern Brisbane got into fights outside a hospital.
A man died and 10 people were injured in the fight in which police believe knives and baseball bats were used at O’Callaghan Park in Zillmere on the afternoon of Sept. 13.
Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming appealed for calm after officers broke up scuffles between friends and family members outside Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where the victims were being treated.
“None of that behaviour is helpful to those who’ve been injured and not helpful to others that are using the hospital,” he told reporters on Sept. 14 morning.
It’s understood a group of people arrived at the park seeking to take “retribution” for another incident that happened in Brisbane’s west.
Fleming said a brawl erupted and police believe knives and baseball bats were used and glass bottles were thrown.
A man aged about 20 died and 10 other people were being treated for wounds and other injuries from the fight.
“It was dark, there were heightened emotions and we had a number of people critically injured,” Queensland Ambulance Service medical director Stephen Rashford said.
Police are still hunting a number of people who ran away when officers arrived at the scene. A police helicopter was unable to track them down.
A crime scene has been established and investigations are continuing with Fleming urging witnesses to come forward.
“We are doing all we can to investigate this and hold people to account for the level of violence that occurred … but also we are active right across southeast Queensland now to try and ensure we don’t have further incidents,” he said.
