Queensland shooting family in custody fight

A central Queensland woman suspected of shooting dead her baby and injuring her ex-husband was reportedly involved in a custody fight.

Jade Quilligan, 22, is believed to have shot her eight-month-old son and his father Lenny Comolatti at a home in Gracemere, near Rockhampton, before crashing a car into a tree at high speed.

Qulligan died of major head injuries yesterday morning.

There have been reports that she shot herself during the escape in the ute, believed to have belonged to Mr Comollatti.

Qulligan and Mr Comollatti, 36, divorced last year and had been fighting in the Family Court over custody of the baby and ownership of a house, the Courier Mail reports.

She is believed to have shot her son and Mr Comolatti during a dispute in the town on Tuesday night.

Mr Comolatti is recovering in hospital, suffering a gunshot wound to the stomach.

Neighbours in the street have told of hearing gunshots at around 7:50pm Tuesday night.

"We only heard one gunshot, but apparently there were more," Jodiee Bennett, 35, who lives opposite the house where the shootings happened, told AAP.

"A man went in there and found the little fella on the floor," he said.

"There was screaming and everything ... because someone had found the baby hurt. They were calling out to get an ambulance."

"They thought he had hit his head on the tiles, but apparently that was one of the gunshot wounds that the baby copped in the head."

Ms Bennett said her husband, Tex, saw a utility truck being driven away from the home a short time after the gunshot was heard.

Another neighbour, Lisa Willis, said the shooting had come as a shock to the community.

"It's a very quiet street. We don't have anything like that happen here," she said.

Dott Fechner, who knows the family said the community would rally around and support them at this difficult time.

"The community is very moved and very emotional," she said.

"It's a tragedy for a small community, and we will be asking ourselves whether there was something we could have done."

She said the wounded father had a couple of other children, worked in a mine out of town, played football and was well respected in the area.

Police are awaiting the results of a post mortem and are preparing a report for the state's coroner.