Police lash suspected 'vigilante' behaviour after alleged Sunshine Coast torture home burnt to ground - 9News

Police have slammed suspected "vigilante" behaviour after a Queensland housing commission property was burnt to the ground in Tewantin overnight.

The fire, believed to have been suspiciously lit at the home where a teenage girl was allegedly beaten, stabbed and humiliated on the Sunshine Coast earlier this month, went up in flames at 1.30am today.

When emergency services arrived, the property was engulfed in flames and badly damaged, though nobody was inside at the time.

The home was completely destroyed. (9News)

No injuries were reported and officers have since declared a crime scene.

The house's windows and doors had earlier been boarded up after being "targeted by vigilantes" in the wake of the girl's alleged assault.

The occupants of the property have since moved out, police confirmed.

Police are now urgently appealing for more information over the suspected arson attack and have issued a stark warning to anyone considering similar actions.

Responding to the community outrage over the alleged acts that took place inside, Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Mansfield said now "the housing department is short of a house".

"Some other people in need could have effectively gone in there and we could have provided some shelter to other people who really do need it," he said.

"That type of behaviour is not condoned at all.

"We'll investigate these matters heavily and seriously ... we just don't want a continuation of this type of behaviour." 

Mansfield said police "are concerned for the safety" of the previous occupants of the house.

"We are concerned but given the house is now destroyed we do envision that type of behaviour will reduce in the area, will stop in fact," he said.

"We ask, in a modern society we follow the processes that are available to people."

Police are also aware of "racially motivated flyer" that had been distributed around the Tewantin area in the last 24 hours, linked to the alleged torture case.

Superintendent Craig Hawkins said early indications suggested those responsible for the flyers reside outside of the Tewantin area.

"Not only has it been distributed here, but also in another location in the south-east Queensland area," he said.

"This is a direct attempt by individuals who don't live on the Sunshine Coast, who have no relationship with the Sunshine Coast, to incite radical behaviour and racially motivated behaviour.

"In no way would that behaviour be condoned, everyone in Queensland has the right to feel safe.

"The cultural heritage of the people who did occupy this home is completely irrelevant.

"A matter has occurred, police investigated that matter and these individuals are now before the court." 

Footage of the alleged torture, uploaded to social media, resulted in mass outrage and widespread anger in the state.

The three girls - aged 12, 13 and 14 - were charged after a 13-year-old girl was allegedly held against her will, punched and stabbed in an hours-long ordeal at a home in at the home on March 11.

Police have since revealed that one of the alleged offenders, the 14-year-old, has also been charged over a second alleged attack that played out on a bus six days earlier.

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2023-03-29 11:19:42Z
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