Siege gunman shot dead after policeman's killing in Queensland

Police set up a roadblock in Queensland

A man who killed a policeman before holding authorities at bay for 18 hours has been shot dead in Australia.

On Monday, Rick Maddison fatally shot Senior Constable Brett Forte after the police officer intercepted his car in Queensland. He fled to a nearby farmhouse and spent the night in a stand-off with police.

Police evacuated residents from residents from nearby properties

Maddison was killed by authorities after fleeing the house and firing on police, Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Wright said.

"He has been challenged by police at that point in time he has fired at those police," he told reporters on Tuesday.


"Specialist police have returned fire. The male person has been shot and that male person has been declared deceased at the scene."

Mr Forte was killed after intercepting Maddison, who police had described as a "wanted person", about 14:20 local time (04:20 GMT) on Monday.

Long negotiation

Authorities had set up an exclusion zone around the farm and began negotiating with Maddison at midnight. The confrontation happened just after 11:00.

On Monday, Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said he wanted to resolve the siege "as peacefully as humanly possible".