Bikie feud breaks out in Queensland

Police fear an escalation of a battle between two rival outlaw motorcycle gangs in southeast Queensland. They believe vicious assaults at a Brisbane tattoo studio and a locksmith on Thursday are part of a feud between members of rival bikie gangs, the Hells Angels and the Bandidos. The Morningside tattoo shop and East Brisbane locksmith were targeted by five men with baseball bats in back-to-back attacks carried out over half an hour from 4pm (AEST). Four men were assaulted and both stores, which are linked to the Hells Angels, were damaged. On Tuesday, a Bandidos tattoo studio on the Gold Coast was targeted in a drive-by attack, while a car linked to the same gang was set alight in Brisbane. Police believe all four incidents are linked and have launched an operation that spans three southeast Queensland police districts. They've arranged to meet with senior members of the Hells Angels and Bandidos, though they admit they've so far had limited cooperation. "At this stage it is our interpretation that it is a localised dispute, and ... we are very concerned that this may escalate," Detective-Inspector Garry Watts told reporters in Brisbane on Friday. Police say the battle is not linked to a tit-for-tat war between outlaw motorcycle clubs in Sydney. Nor were two gun-related incidents in Brisbane's north on Thursday linked to the same gang hostilities, they say. A man suffered a minor shoulder injury after shots were fired outside a house in Kallangur around 3.30pm (AEST). About 9.15pm (AEST), shots were fired at an address at Everton Hills in an incident believed to be linked to a third motorcycle gang, the Gypsy Jokers. Police moved to allay fears that members of the public could be harmed. "We don't believe that the general public are at risk at this time," Detective Chief Superintendent Gayle Hogan said. Police are investigating a number of theories about how the war started, including a report that the bashing of a Hells Angel member was the catalyst.