A tense police siege with an armed and dangerous criminal in the Lockyer Valley has stretched beyond 18 hours after the gunman shot and killed Queensland police officer Brett Forte.
Senior Constable Forte was killed after a "wanted man" evaded police in a traffic stop at Seventeen Mile in the Lockyer Valley just before 2pm on Monday.
Police have been negotiating with the suspected gunman - named in the media as Rick Maddison - holed up in a farm house near Gatton.
It's believed Maddison is armed with a machine gun.
After gunning down Sen Const Forte during a police pursuit, he also fired at other officers, police vehicles and a police helicopter.
"This guy they are after, he has got serious history," Queensland Police Union CEO Ian Leavers said on Tuesday morning, without going into details.
"I know a bit about him but while it is unfolding I have to hold back."
He has been described in media reports as a career criminal, which included a 2008 arrest in Gatton for torture, deprivation of liberty, and drug offences.
Mr Leavers indicated Maddison should not have been at large.
"I would like to say more but I just don't want to hamper anything more because obviously there could be prosecution down the track and I want justice to happen very quickly."
Queensland Commissioner Ian Stewart told reporters late Monday night that police wanted to resolve the stand-off "as peacefully as humanly possible" and paid tribute to Sen Const Forte as "fine son" of the police service.
Police have cordoned off a large section of Seventeen Mile, forcing some locals to sleep in their cars.
Mr Stewart told media: "We've lost a fine officer and our condolences and thoughts and love are with his wife, his children, his family, and of course his colleagues.
"We will miss Brett deeply.
"Our job now is to make sure that we resolve the current operation issue without further loss of life, and certainly that operation is ongoing."
A member of the Toowoomba's Tactical Crime Squad, Senior Constable Forte's death came after a police tried to pull over Maddison on Tuesday afternoon.
Brett Forte. Source: Facebook
A police source said Maddison got out of his car during the chase and shot Senior Constable Forte before driving down a dirt road at Seventeen Mile.
It's understood another police vehicle rolled over after the chase resumed and the offender also fired at a police helicopter while entering the farm house.
The gunman was holed up in a farm house inside a locked-down area and in a siege situation with Special Emergency Response Team officers at sunset.
"He is contained within the exclusion zone," a police spokesman told AAP.
In a tragic coincidence, his death comes on the anniversary of slain Gold Coast detective Damian Leeding's shooting after he responded to an armed robbery at the Pacific Pines Tavern in 2011.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk sent condolences to the slain officer's friends and family and said members of the public should be "immensely grateful" for the work of the police force.
"Every day, the brave officers of the Queensland Police Service put their lives on the line when they go to work," she said in a statement.
Police declared an emergency situation near the Lockyer State Forrest shortly before 4pm on Monday.
They locked down a large area, with an exclusion zone in place for Fords Road, Forestry Road West, Sandy Creek Road, Gerard Lane, Seventeen Mile Road, Wallers Road and Forest Road.
Local man Terry Hayden told reporters the shooting occurred near his front yard, shaking up his wife who was locked inside.
Police advised members of the public and media to avoid the exclusion zone.
It's understood Police Commissioner Ian Stewart is en route to the site and a media conference is expected to be held later on Monday evening.
Mourners have been laying floral tributes for Senior Constable Forte outside the Toowoomba police station.
Queensland Police respond to the shooting of an officer
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