Queensland police have issued an arrest warrant for a 27-year-old man believed to have fired an AK-47 assault rifle in three separate incidents and set a house on fire in Brisbane. Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham described the suspect, Mitchell James Wilson, as “armed, dangerous, irrational and particularly unpredictable”, expressing concern that his behaviour may be “accelerating”.
The first confrontation occurred at a commercial premises in Brendale, north Brisbane, at about 2.45pm on Thursday 6 April. Security footage released by police shows a man, alleged to be Wilson, discharging the rifle into the concrete near another man. According to Massingham, a “life-and-death struggle” between the two men ensued, during which Wilson allegedly regained the firearm and fired another shot into the ground before fleeing.
Later that evening, at about 8.55pm, Wilson allegedly used the same weapon to threaten two women known to him at Mount Gravatt, south Brisbane. The women fled and heard a shot behind them, though police said it was unclear whether the shot was aimed at the ground or in their direction. Approximately 20 minutes later, Wilson allegedly went to a home in Sunnybank carrying a jerry can of fuel, threatened a man with the firearm while seeking the location of one of the women, and set the house alight. The home was destroyed and a pet dog was killed.
Police have appealed for public assistance in locating Wilson, who has been on the run for two days. They urged anyone harbouring him to convince him to hand himself in, and asked accommodation providers, particularly on Brisbane’s north side, to check their guests.
