The families of two 16-year-old boys charged over a shooting incident at Tara are receiving calls and threats from the public, a court has heard.
Police said the boys were charged with weapons and wilful damage offences while a 14-year-old boy had been cautioned under the Youth Justice Act after shots were allegedly fired on a residential street of the Western Downs town on Wednesday afternoon.
A 15-year-old boy was released without charge.
Lawyers for the two boys facing charges opposed applications made by media to be present at proceedings scheduled at Dalby Childrens Court today.
Under Queensland youth justice laws, Childrens Court matters are always heard in closed court, but media may be granted access by a magistrate on a case by case basis.
Lawyer Nikola Prince, who represented a teen who intended to apply for bail this afternoon, said "ventilated" details about the alleged offence and personal information which would be provided in the bail application would be prejudicial.
Ms Prince also said Tara was a "very small community" and the address of the incident had already been identified, leading to further identification of her client and risk of his wellbeing.
"To the extent already my client's family are receiving phone calls from members of the community and the media," she said.
She said there was "a real risk and a real concern from my client and his family that their safety and welfare is in jeopardy in all of the circumstances".
The second teen's lawyer, Julia Molloy, said her client's family believed their safety was at risk as well.
"There have also been reports to myself from my client's family of those threats and media calling their personal numbers," Ms Molloy said.
"It's not appropriate that anything further be published in relation to this before the matter is appropriately ventilated and before the investigation has concluded."
Magistrate Kyna Morice denied the media's application.
"There is a risk to the safety and welfare of the young people before the court as well as their families, noting the very small town Tara is," Ms Morice said.
"This is the first appearance of both young people before the court, as such, it is in it's very early stages.
"I cannot be satisfied that the media's presence would not prejudice the interests of the young people before the court."
'Concerning' behaviour
Superintendent Ray Vine said on Thursday morning said it was "concerning" behaviour from the teens, and investigations into their motives were ongoing.
Police will also conduct investigations into the firearm allegedly used.
Superintendent Vine said they had not identified the owner of the gun and did not know if it was registered.
"The firearm is still at the scene," he said.
"So in terms of looking at a particular serial number or identifying whether it's registered, that hasn't occurred yet."
'High police presence' in town
Officers were attending another matter when they received reports of gunfire about 3:30pm on Wednesday.
Police declared an emergency in the town at 5:30pm.
Police allege three cars were shot at, with eight or nine shots fired when officers arrived at the scene.
The boys were arrested, with the emergency declaration revoked several hours later.
No one was injured in the incident.
It comes just over a month after a deadly shooting at a property in nearby Wieambilla, where two police officers and a local man were killed.
Superintendent Vine said the incidents were not linked, but police had been active in the area after the Wieambilla shooting.
"We're maintaining a high police presence in Tara," he said.
Superintendent Vine said several officers involved with the Wieambilla incident also responded to yesterday's incident.
"We're providing them with support and welfare and counselling if they need it," he said.
"But I'd just like to sort of say that their heroics and their resolve to protect the community and maintain community safety, given the events of five-and-a-half weeks ago, is remarkable."
Long-term resident Allan Bougoure said he was driving back from cricket practice on Wednesday evening when he was stopped by police and told to avoid the area.
He said the small community was still recovering from the shock of last month's shooting.
"I think people were just more concerned that something like that didn't unfold again," he said.
"Tara's a good place. We don't want that to be what paints [the image of] the town."
Mayor urges government to crack down on crime
With a population of less than 4,000 people, Tara made national headlines last month after the Wieambilla shooting.
Western Downs Regional Council mayor Paul McVeigh said a major crackdown on crime was needed in the region.
"There's too much of this happening across our region, whether it be theft to entering properties," Cr McVeigh said.
"People need to be able to be safe.
"I think it's time that all levels of government work together to stop this crime wave that's happening at the moment."
Acting Premier Steven Miles said he would leave the details of the incident to police, but said the government had been putting additional officers on the ground "to address these kinds of crimes".
"What we've said consistently is we will listen to the advice of police and our agencies and if they say they need additional tools and additional resources to fight these types of crime, then we will give them to them," he said.
