Police are concerned there will be retribution attacks after a man died during a fight between two groups of about 20 people in northern Brisbane.

September 14, 2020

Queensland police fear there will be revenge attacks following a deadly brawl between members of Brisbane’s African community.

A man in his 20s died after the fight involving two groups of about 20 people at playing fields in Zillmere on Sunday afternoon.

Paramedics took 10 people to hospital suffering stab wounds and blunt force injuries after one group attacked another with knives and baseball bats.

Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming says police are concerned some victims won’t cooperate with investigators and may take matters into their own hands.

“It’s a horrific, unacceptable attack in our society and I can only imagine that as a parent or a sibling that would cause angst in my mind if it was someone I loved,” he told reporters on Monday.

“But retribution is not going to solve the problem. We have seen that in societies around the world where it becomes tit for tat.

“It doesn’t end well for anyone.”

Earlier, officers appealed for calm after friends and families of those hurt in the melee clashed outside Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where the victims were being treated.

“None of that behaviour is helpful to those who’ve been injured and nor to others that are using the hospital,” Det Supt Fleming said on Sunday.

Police believe three carloads of people arrived at the Zillmere park seeking “retribution” for another incident that happened in Brisbane’s west on September 8.

Queensland Ambulance Service medical director Stephen Rashford said emotions were running high when a team of 21 paramedics arrived.

“It was a very confronting scene. It was dark, right on dusk,” he said.

“A number of critically ill patients required intense treatment

“Sadly, one of the victims despite extensive resuscitative efforts was unable to be saved and died at the scene.”

Det Supt Fleming said the people involved “appear to be outliers to the African community” and were “not supported generally by the community”.

“I think we have an uphill battle here,” he said.

Police believe a spike in the price of drugs may be linked to the attacks and continue to search for a number of people who fled the scene.