Four teenagers in custody after shots fired in southern Queensland town

Four teenagers have been taken into custody in a small town in south-east Queensland after reports of shots being fired in the area.

Police were called to reports of a shooting in Tara about 3.30pm on Wednesday and declared an exclusion zone covering several blocks in the centre of town at 5.30pm.

Officers said initial information indicated that a vehicle had been shot at on Smallacombe Street.

Tara, in the western downs region, is about 40km south of Wieambilla which was the scene of a deadly ambush that ended with the deaths of six people, including two police officers, in December 2022.

Authorities later revoked the emergency declaration in Tara and said four local boys, aged 14, 15, 16 and 16, were assisting police with their investigations.

Police said the teenagers were found at a Tara residence on Wednesday night and taken into custody without incident.

No one was injured.

Some residents were evacuated with others urged to stay indoors.

Local media initially reported police officers were fired upon in the centre of Tara.

Queensland police constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were shot dead after pulling up to a rural property in Wieambilla for a welfare check on 12 December.

Neighbour Alan Dare was also gunned down in a confrontation sparked when conspiracy theorists Gareth Train, his partner, Stacey Train, and his brother, Nathaniel Train, opened fire on their approach. The trio were later shot dead by police.