RTRS - Queensland gunman evades police in bush hunt .
BRISBANE 1996-08-28
Australian police on Wednesday continued to hunt a gunman in dense bushland after he killed his wife and wounded three other people , warning the man is extremely dangerous and may take a hostage to escape .
The shooting occured around 6.30 a.m. ( 2030 GMT ) on Tuesday at Glenwood , south of Maryborough , about 150 km ( 93 miles ) north of Brisbane on the Queensland state coast .
Police have declared an " emergent situation " in the area , giving them powers to raid houses , search cars , close schools , quarantine the area and evacuate people .
" It is one step short of an emergency situation , " a police spokesman said via telephone from a command post in the bush .
" We have not had any sightings , but we suspect he is armed , possibly with a .22 rifle and / or a self-loading shotgun .
He is considered extremely dangerous , " he said .
" It 's a possibility , not a probability , he may take a hostage , but we have measures in place if that is the case . "
William Fox broke into his wife 's home on Tuesday morning , shooting her dead and wounding his 16-year-old son , his son 's girlfriend and a neighbour , police said .
All three wounded are in a satisfactory condition in hospital .
Fox initially fled from the shooting in a car , but then abandoned the car and entered dense bushland .
Fox is a skilled bushman who knows the area very well , police said .
About 60 police , helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have maintained an overnight cordon around 15 sq km ( six sq miles ) of bush near Glenwood .
The area is littered with caves and police believed Fox has a hideout which has enabled him to evade capture .
Australia 's six states and two territories are involved in heated debate over the introduction of tough new firearm laws , including the banning rapid fire weapons , after a shooting massacre in the island state of Tasmania .
On April 28 , a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage at the site of the historic Port Arthur penal settlement , killing 35 people .