Two in critical condition after shooting, stabbing attack on Australia’s Gold Coast

Sydney, March 31 (IANS) Police in Australia are searching for a man who allegedly shot one man and stabbed another, leaving both with life-threatening injuries.
The police service in the state of Queensland said that a 30-year-old man fled the scene after allegedly shooting one neighbour and stabbing another during a dispute in the early hours of Monday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police said that emergency services responded to a disturbance at an address in Surfers Paradise — 70 km southeast of Brisbane on Queensland’s Gold Coast — just before 2 a.m. local time.
A 21-year-old man was found at the scene with a gunshot wound to his stomach and stab wounds to his back, and a 44-year-old male was found with stab wounds to his head, neck and leg.
Both men were treated at the scene for life-threatening injuries before being taken to a nearby hospital in a critical but stable condition.
Police located a firearm at the scene and have launched a search for the 30-year-old male who fled the address before the officers arrived.
Queensland Police Service Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio that police have a “fair idea” of who they are looking for.
“The appeal is for that gentleman to give himself up. This isn’t going away, this is attempted murder,” he said. “We just need you to come in and give yourself up and we’ll deal with you from there on in.”
He said that the incident occurred in a common area after the 44-year-old and 21-year-old males intervened in a disturbance in a neighbouring unit.
–IANS
int/rs