A man has been charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly shooting a woman dead and injuring another man in north Queensland.

The 31-year-old man, named by multiple media outlets as Ryan Geoffrey Cole, was charged early on Thursday after an emergency declaration and manhunt in South Mackay on Wednesday.

It came after a 34-year-old woman — who lived next door to him — was shot through the window of her car while sitting in her driveway in Robb Place, Mackay.

She suffered critical injuries and died at the scene.

In the car with her were her 11-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old friend who were about to go to a sporting event.

The young girls fled the scene to find help and were not physically harmed, police said.

“It’s obviously a tragic incident where two young girls have witnessed a violent death of their mother,” said Mackay Detective Acting Superintendent Emma Novosel on Thursday.

“I want to acknowledge and commend their bravery for actually managing to remove themselves from such a dangerous situation and raise the alarm, that’s incredibly brave.

“I can’t even believe to imagine the trauma they must be experiencing.”

Novosel said the girls had escaped to the property of a 66-year-old neighbour who rushed to help the mother and was also allegedly shot.

That man suffered non-life threatening injuries to his hand and sternum and was expected to undergo surgery at Mackay Base Hospital on Thursday.

Police said Cole lived in the property next door to the victim, but it was not believed he and the dead woman knew each other.

“Certainly at this stage the motives behind the attack on this woman and man are unknown and there will be further investigations,” Novosel said.

Novosel said witnesses described the weapon as a revolver-style gun, with one shot allegedly fired at each victim.

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the accused previously had a weapons licence. It was revoked in 2021, with 11 firearms subsequently taken from him.

“That was as a result of his conduct and other charges that he’d faced that the weapons were removed from him and the licence was revoked,” Gollschewski said.

“We’ll look really closely not only at what occurred yesterday, but the lead-up to that in terms of his access to weapons and how he might have got that weapon.”

He said additional powers were being sought via a firearms prohibition scheme before state parliament to thwart similar incidents.

Gollschewski said authorities were aware of the man prior to the “terrible act of violence” in Mackay.

“That’s a horrid situation,” he said.

“A life has been lost in front of her children by a really terrible act of violence by the offender and another person has been seriously injured.”

Novosel said there had been no recent callouts to the address for any disturbances or mental health-related issues.

Police locked down a wide area of Mackay as they searched for the man. Image: Queensland Police

The South Mackay man had already fled the scene by the time police arrived and made an emergency declaration under the Public Preservation Act.

He was found a few hours later in a vehicle at a service station and was arrested without incident, said Novosel.

“Certainly this is a really unique situation… really dynamic and something that is unusual for the Mackay area.”

Multiple streets were locked down during the search for the shooter. The lockdown in the area encompassing Robb Place and Paradise, Archibald, Kindermar and Denton streets was eventually lifted late on Wednesday.

Cole was due to appear in the Mackay Magistrates Court later on Thursday.

-with AAP