An Australian man is facing a slew of charges after allegedly hijacking a news van at gunpoint and leading police on a wild chase before crashing into a propane tank.
The bizarre incident started around 4:40 a.m. in Noosa Heads, Queensland, about two hours north of Brisbane.
According to Australia’s 7 News, a cameraman was heading to the scene of an alleged shooting when he was hailed on the side of the highway by a man on a motorcycle.
According to the station, the motorcyclist told the cameraman that he had a story for him, confessed to being the shooter and said he wanted to surrender himself.
The man turned his gun over to the cameraman, who placed it on the front seat of the news van.
The cameraman then called police and held up a conversation with the man for about half an hour.
In a taped interview, the man sobs, says he feels “like and a coward" and says he “couldn’t fight the devil.”
However at some point the man decided to change his mind about surrendering, climbing into the vehicle, grabbing the gun and pointing it at the cameraman before taking off in the news van.
Still filming, the cameraman caught the hijacking on tape.
“Mate, don’t be an f****** idiot,” the cameraman is heard saying on tape as the man takes the vehicle. “Don’t be silly.”
The van is then seen speeding away from behind with the trunk still ajar.
Police picked up the cameraman from the side of the highway and pursued the news van to a nearby gas station where witnesses saw it crash into a propane tank.
Luckily, the propane tank did not explode and no injuries were reported in the crash.
With weapons drawn, police arrived at the gas station and demanded that the man surrender.
Up and walking about, he is seen in news footage trotting back toward the crashed news van as police yell at him.
“Get on the ground now!” police yell at the man repeatedly as he trots away toward the propane tank.
Police eventually took the man into custody.
According to the news station, he has been charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a weapon and two counts of willful damage.
He is expected to appear in court next month.
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