Two fugitives who allegedly kidnapped and shot a man before leaving him for dead have been arrested on the other side of the country in dramatic scenes.
A woman, 38, and a man, 25, whose alleged crimes took place in New South Wales, were arrested last week in the remote community of Balladonia, Western Australia.
His Holden Trax was surrounded by heavily armed police 500 kilometers west of the South Australian border five days after the alleged hijacking. 7 news reported.
The pair, along with another woman, are accused of kidnapping a 32-year-old man at gunpoint from a Port Macquarie home on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.
The trio then allegedly took the man to Bago Bluff National Park, 40 kilometers away, where they shot him multiple times and then left him for dead, according to police.
The injured man was found by a runner “naked and bleeding.”
“It was evident that he had been shot on a number of occasions,” NSW Police Inspector Peter O’Reilly told Seven News.
The man was treated by paramedics before being rushed to hospital in a serious condition.
The moment police surrounded the vehicle of two suspected kidnappers who police say shot a man several times before leaving him for dead.
In the “high-risk arrest” a police officer suffered minor facial injuries (in the photo, the police officer approaches the driver)
The man remains in hospital and has since been questioned by police.
Police allege two of the alleged kidnappers traveled in a 2014 Holden SUV across the country.
After authorities received a tip from their counterparts in New South Wales that the pair had crossed the border, Western Australian police assembled a team to search for the vehicle.
Police also understood that the truck had mechanical problems.
It was finally located in a bush, about 100 meters from Balladonia Roadhouse.
Western Australian Police described the pair as “dangerous” and ensured the van was surrounded by officers with firearms drawn before making arrests.
Classified as a “high-risk arrest,” police allegedly found a loaded rifle during a search of the vehicle.
A 38-year-old officer suffered minor facial injuries during the arrest.
Police allegedly found a sawed-off rifle when they searched the vehicle. The arrest appears in the photo.
The pair were described as “dangerous” and have since been extradited to New South Wales.
The couple, both from Port Macquarie, were extradited to New South Wales this week, where they will face charges of kidnapping and attempted murder.
Both have been denied bail.
Police do not know why they traveled to Western Australia after their alleged crimes.
The third person, a 27-year-old woman, remains at large.
Police believe the injured man and the alleged trio know each other.