Interrupted robber takes four people hostage
Members of an Upper Mount Gravatt family have been used as human shields by a gunman in a stand-off with police.
After a bungled armed hold-up, the victims were held hostage at gunpoint and marched down a suburban street.
Terrified witnesses captured the moment a man with a gun and nothing to lose took two innocent men hostage.
Around 10am, 35-year-old Steven Cheetham ignored police demands to surrender his weapon.
He was desperate to find a way out of Perkins Street in Upper Mount Gravatt - Police officers had to convince him not to use one of their vehicles, saying they didn’t have the keys to one of the cars.
The gunman meanwhile ordered the second hostage to follow closely behind with a towel, so police couldn't make a clean shot.
Eventually the two hostages broke free - one suffered facial injuries in the scuffle. Officers then quickly moved in and captured Mr Cheetham before taking him to Mount Gravatt police station to charge him.
"It just so happened, SERT our special emergency response team were in close proximity at the time, and rendered us some very valuable assistance," said Inspector Owen Elloy.
The gunman was originally casing out this night owl but the owners are so used to being held up but they called police when they noticed him acting suspiciously.
The woman who filmed the ordeal, Evelyn Houf, said the gunman originally had four hostages, but two escaped.
"We (saw) a man coming out, and police (were) yelling drop the gun, drop the gun," she said.
Police say the victims escaped without suffering any serious injuries, but were left extremely shaken from the ordeal.
