Emergency at Gold Coast Macca’s after woman is shot dead

Queensland police declared an emergency at 9 a.m. at a Gold Coast McDonald’s restaurant in Helensvale when a man shot a woman first and then himself on Thursday morning.

49-year-old mother Karina Lock entered the fast food chain before the man who shot her. Stephen Lock, the shooter, was the estranged husband of the woman. Lock reportedly fired one shot in the carpark before targeting his wife when she tried to escape and ran to the restaurant to ask for help. She died on the spot while the suspect was injured and was immediately taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition.

The woman’s sister-in-law ran towards her after she was shot and broke into tears as she talked to the police. “When she put her head on my shoulder and started crying I could barely hold back my own tears,” Sgt John Cass said, as quoted by Heraldsun.com.

“I am not going to go into the specifics of it because it is quite a graphic and tragic incident that has occurred and that is obviously the focus of our investigation,” White said. He added CCTV footage available at the site is also being looked at. White indicated that this is a sensitive issue and the family should be given some time to accept whatever has happened.

The police officer said that the number of customers present in the McDonald’s restaurant at the time of the incident is unknown, but it is believed that the witnesses were customers and not staff members. The staff members and witnesses will be counselled.

A policeman said that the witnesses from McDonald’s were asked at the Coomera Station. White said that they are moving stepwise with the statements of the witnesses.

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