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A man charged with the murder of an elderly dog walker during an alleged violent rampage across Queensland’s Bundaberg region has been identified.
Richard Zoltan Babos, 36, was tackled and restrained by bystanders in the streets of Childers on Wednesday afternoon following the alleged hour of terror across the town.
Police have since charged the Bundaberg West man with one count each of murder, attempt to murder, acts intended to maim, disfigure or disable, dangerous operation of a vehicle, and evasion.
The sequence of events began about 1.45pm on the Bruce Highway at Glenorchy, about 238km north of Brisbane.
Police allege Mr Babos, driving a silver Subaru Liberty, intentionally backed into a Tesla before launching a verbal tirade at the driver and speeding away.
Less than an hour later, the violence escalated dramatically.
At 2.30pm, the Subaru was seen in Childers, where it allegedly rammed a Mitsubishi Pajero on North St.
When the Pajero’s 65-year-old driver, a man from Howard, stepped out to assess the damage, Mr Babos allegedly reversed into him, left his own vehicle, and punched the older man multiple times before fleeing the scene.
Minutes later, the alleged rampage turned fatal. Driving out to North Isis, Mr Babos allegedly targeted a 78-year-old local who was out for his routine daily walk.
At 2.38pm, the elderly man was allegedly punched in the head and brutally struck with a metal pole on Whitebridge Rd, dying at the scene.
Police say Mr Babos then sped back into Childers, where he allegedly assaulted a 66-year-old man at the intersection of Crescent and Lord streets.
He was allegedly choked with a garden hose, The Courier-Mail reports.
Local residents intervened to pin Mr Babos down before a police officer rushed in to make the arrest.
The two surviving victims were rushed to Bundaberg Hospital. The 65-year-old suffered severe head and neck trauma, while the 66-year-old sustained facial and neck injuries.
Detectives have established multiple crime scenes and confirmed that none of the victims were known to their alleged attacker.
A close family friend remembered the victim as a well-liked local who was always quick to wave to neighbours.
“He was a very nice guy, very friendly and outgoing,” he told The Courier-Mail.
“He was always walking his dog, taking him out for daily walks. He was friendly every time we drove past, he’d always wave at us. It’s sad what has happened.”
The friend added that the elderly man “walked down that street pretty much every single day”.
Mr Babos was scheduled to appear at Gladstone Magistrates Court via video link on Thursday.
Chief Inspector Grant Marcus said the community had been through adversity in the past – a deliberately-lit fire at a Childers backpackers hostel in 2000 killed 15 people – and this was another situation it would have to face.
He said police would engage an organisation to provide support to the community, conduct door knocks and talk to anyone who was involved.
“It is a pretty horrendous situation, as we all know, so what I say to the community first of all is that there’s no further threat to the community as a result of what’s happened,” he said.
“We’ll be engaging with another organisation to provide support to the community … and offer opportunities for support to make sure that they’re feeling OK.”
Police are urging anyone who travelled between the Sunshine Coast and Childers that saw a grey silver Subaru driving erratically from 11am to 3pm on Wednesday to report the matter.
Investigations are ongoing. Anyone with relevant vision or information is urged to call Crime Stoppers or contact police.
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