Queensland police are investigating a massive brawl involving members from the Indian community in Brisbane’s south earlier this week which sent eight men to hospital with serious injuries.
AT A GLANCE
• A brawl started at 10.30pm Monday in the suburb of Runcorn
• Up to 40 men wielding poles, baseball bats and clubs were involved
• One man was seriously injured and seven others required hospital treatment
• Police are yet to establish a motive for the fight but are aware of ‘underlying tensions’
Runcorn residents called police after a fight involving about 40 men armed with various weapons including bats and poles, erupted on Daw Road, late on Monday night.
Officers arriving on the scene found a 36-year-old man with significant hand, neck and head injuries.
Police said a group of men tried to flee the scene but were intercepted at Nathan Street by a police dog squad.
“Seven men, aged between 22 and 38, were taken into custody. An eighth man was tracked, located and arrested in Cactus Street,” QPS said in a statement.
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Gang involvement has been ruled out, but a QPS spokesperson said police were aware of “tensions” within the Indian community in the area.
“What we do know is that they are two groups that were known to each other, and at this stage, motives, size, reasoning is all forming part of the investigation,” he said. “Preliminary investigations have told us that there has been some social media chat in relation to that.”
As part of the investigation, QPS would look into whether the brawl was organised, who organised what, and how all the men had come to meet at that specific spot, police told 7news.
Nearby residents heard the brawl and said they were worried for their families.
A scared mother told the ABC that someone had thrown a bloodied pole into her yard. Another neighbour said they heard angry shouting that lasted about an hour before the police came.
The Courier Mail heard from a Runcorn local who said he believed all the men were there to kill each other.
The QPS spokesperson said that they had engaged with members of the community before but don’t understand the motives of how the fight escalated to 40 person brawl, the ABC reported.
“We need to really push that message that behaviour whether they’re known to each other or not, that is unacceptable and we take a very strong stance on any potential follow up or retaliation,” he said.
Police are appealing to the public for any information or footage relating to the incident.
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