00:00A suburban Townsville hotel turned into a crime scene.
00:07It was a very, very challenging situation for the officers to be put in.
00:10Three officers were called to reports of a girl making threats.
00:14They were confronted by a 17-year-old allegedly wielding a knife.
00:19There were use of force options presented and a single shot was discharged from one of the firearms.
00:25It's going to take a little while for this officer to get over what has happened.
00:28Police say they provided immediate medical assistance before she was taken to hospital with injuries to her abdomen.
00:35Police officers were presented with a set of circumstances which was life-threatening
00:39and they reverted to their training and if it wasn't for their quick reflexes
00:43that we could have been very easily talking about the death of a police officer.
00:47We provide every bit of support for those who are suffering mentally
00:52and we also have the strong laws in place to protect the community.
00:55Advocates say more needs to be done to prevent incidents like this.
00:59Police need as many tools as possible to deal with de-escalation rather than resorting to any kind of weapon.
01:06The hotel management thanked police and said no one should have to experience what occurred
01:11and we stand with the officers and our staff involved.
01:14This is the second police involved shooting in Townsville this year.
01:18Police have described the incident as sad for everyone involved.
01:21They say they're supporting the officers who attended the incident
01:24and have reached out to the family of the girl to offer help.
01:27What they had to deal with yesterday was extraordinarily harrowing.
01:31Investigations continue.
01:33Investigations continue.
01:36flexibility engaged
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