Queensland police believe a man they shot and killed in a standoff outside Gladstone yesterday had stolen three vehicles before pointing a stolen loaded rifle at officers.

Det Insp Darrin Shadlow told media on Tuesday a police patrol came across the 36-year-old Cairns man at about 11.50am on Monday, while he was travelling in a stolen ute on the Bruce Highway near Colosseum, north of Brisbane.

Police had not attempted to intercept that utility,” he said.

he vehicle has pulled to the side of the road. A male person has got out of that vehicle armed with a rifle. The male person has pointed that rifle at police. Subsequently police have confronted him called upon him to drop the firearm. He didn’t do that and unfortunately police had to engage and subsequently shot that male person.”

The man was later declared deceased at the scene, despite the efforts of police and paramedics to revive him with CPR.

Shadlow said the man had stolen three cars that morning.

He allegedly stole a car in Bororen at about 10.50am. The vehicle contained a rifle and ammunition, according to police.

At about 11.15am he allegedly stole a second car from a 61-year-old female at a house on Cawthrays Road, Colosseum. He stole a third vehicle, a four-wheel drive ute, from the same house, before driving through and smashing its front gate, police claim.

Police later detected him in the third vehicle on the highway.

A man fitting the same description had attempted to break into another address, shed and gun safe on Cawthrays Road, Shadlow said.

The incident is now being investigated by ethical standards command. Officers have already deployed to Gladstone.

Shadlow said the number of shots fired by police and whether the man fired his weapon were a matter for the investigation. He said two of three police at the scene fired their weapons.

Shadlow said the officers were “shaken up” on Monday afternoon, but were given all the support available.

“Police don’t go to work expecting this to happen. However, they are trained and they are ready if something like this does happen. Unfortunately, this male person has given the police no option on this occasion,” he said.

Shadlow said the man had been known to be in the central Queensland area for about a week and police had had interactions with him before the shooting. The deceased man was known to police, he said.

He appealed for any member of the public who had seen a green Toyota Hilux or an older-style white Nissan Patrol utility in the area, or had driven past the incident to contact Crimestoppers.

The Bruce Highway was closed after the shooting, but reopened at about 8pm on Monday.