Multiple people have been injured after a spate of alleged random slingshot attacks from a moving car in Brisbane.
At least four people reported being hurt in the inner-city, including a woman who claimed she was almost blinded by metal projectiles, before four men were arrested.
“I was just really scared because it was Paddington, and I didn’t think anything like this could happen,” one injured woman, who asked not to be named to protect her safety, told Nine News.
“I still feel sick about it, that it happened and that so many people were hurt and someone could do something like that.”
The alleged attacks occurred between May 27 and May 31 in Paddington, Toowong, and St Lucia.
A 22-year-old woman was hit on the forehead, a 36-year-old woman on the hand, a 53-year-old man in his back, and a 64-year- old woman on her jaw.
Police pulled over a Hyundai hatchback at Chapel Hill Road in Chapel Hill about 11.15pm on May 31. They discovered two handmade slingshots, two “pocket-shot style devices”, and a set of knuckle dusters.
Homes in Redbank Plains and Forest Lake were later searched, and more evidence – including metal balls identified by Nine News as fishing sinkers – was seized. Drug utensils and marijuana were also allegedly found.
Three 19-year-old men and a fourth aged 20 were arrested and charged with a string of offences, including assault and discharging a weapon in public.
All but one of the men were granted bail. They will appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on June 22 and 23.
Police urged anyone who believed they may have been struck by an object from a passing vehicle in Paddington, Toowong, St Lucia, Chapel Hill or surrounding areas to come forward.
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