The man who allegedly doused himself and a house in petrol last Sunday night was holding a cigarette lighter and threatening to create an inferno as police converged on him before he could act.
Superintendent Geoff Sheldon of Gold Coast Police was giving a press conference on anti-hooning activities when he revealed the acts of bravery by officers who attended the domestic violence incident at O’Reilly Drive, Coomera around 9.30pm on ANZAC day.
‘He doused himself and the house in petrol while his partner and two adult children of that partnership, and one of their girlfriends, were inside the house,’ said Sheldon. ‘He’s even showered the dog in petrol, and threatened to light the whole thing up.’
‘Luckily the people inside the house were able to escape so he was left there in a petrol-soaked house, having poured petrol over himself, and holding a cigarette lighter,’ he continued.
‘Through some decisive tactical action and nothing but out-and-out bravery by our officers, they’ve jumped on a fellow soaked in petrol [and] been able to disarm him and safely taken him into custody.’
A man has been arrested after allegedly dousing himself and a house in petrol on Sunday and threatening to set it ablaze in an alleged domestic violence incident (stock image)
An emergency public safety declaration was enacted for more than an hour as police, firefighters, and ambulance officers tried to get the situation under control.
The 43-year-old man was arrested and originally charged with wilful damage. On Tuesday, further charges of assault, deprivation of liberty and acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm were added, as was contravention of a domestic violence order.
He is being held at Southport Watchhouse as investigations continue.
Shannon Fletcher of Cooper Maloy Lawyers appeared on Randall’s behalf at Southport Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday where no application for bail was made and a committal mention was set for May 11, with Randall not required to appear.
His partner was present but not physically injured in the incident.
There are calls for urgently reform Australia’s domestic violence laws following the shocking case of Hannah Clarke and her three young children who were burned to death by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter.
Earlier this month, the burned body of Kelly Wilkinson, 27, was discovered in the backyard of her home in Arundel on the Gold Coast.
Hannah Clarke (pictured, right, with her grandmother, left) and children Trey, Laianah and Aaliyah were doused in petrol and set alight by her estranged husband in February 2020
Her estranged husband and former US marine Brian Johnston, 35, was found two blocks away in a ‘semi-conscious state’ with burn injuries of his own and was later charged with her murder.
Ten years after the first national plan to tackle domestic violence, the economic cost in Australia is estimated at $26 billion a year.
A bipartisan report tabled by the House of Representatives social policy and legal affairs committee on Thursday makes 88 detailed recommendations, centred on a ‘whole of society’ response.
The committee recommends a new independent national commissioner for the prevention of family, domestic, and sexual violence who would report to parliament.
But 10 days paid domestic violence leave per year is not recommended, despite Labor’s push for it to be a priority.
Earlier this month, the burnt body of Kelly Wilkinson, 27, was discovered in the back yard of her Arundel home on the Gold Coast . Her estranged partner former U.S. Marine Brian Johnston, 35, was found two blocks away in a semi-conscious state with burn injuries of his own and was later charged with her murder (pictured)
There is also a call for a specific public awareness campaign about coercive and controlling behaviour as a form of family, domestic and sexual violence, and how it is a predictor of severe physical violence and homicide.
‘While all Australian governments have made substantial investments in an attempt to reduce family, domestic and sexual violence, it remains that one woman is killed on average every eight days at the hands of her partner or former partner,’ committee chair Andrew Wallace said.
The inquiry was sparked by the murder in February 2020 of Brisbane woman Ms Clarke and her three children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey, by Ms Clarke’s estranged husband.
