A man carrying two rifles who was seen firing shots into the air has surrendered to police in the central business district of Mackay in north Queensland.

Police had declared an emergency situation and locked down the CBD after the man was seen firing at least one of his guns into the air near a hotel on Gregory Street late on Wednesday afternoon.

Detective Inspector Brendan Smith said the man had two rifles and negotiators spent some time speaking with him.

The 29-year-old man, from Sarina, south of Mackay, remained on the street for the entire incident.

"It's a great result, no-one's been hurt, he'll be taken to hospital for an assessment and we'll decide after that what the next steps will be," he said.

"A number of shots were fired earlier in the day and we believe that was his attempt to draw attention to himself."

Inspector Smith said he had no immediate indication of a motive for the man's behaviour.

Police locked down the Mackay CBD after reports of an armed man in the area. ( ABC News: Rachel Riga )

He said the man's family were useful in providing information to police negotiators.

"It's one of the many strategies negotiators use, obviously to build a profile on any person of interest."

Mackay resident Les Mole said he was in a nearby building when he heard the shots.

"It went 'boom', it was going off and it was pretty scary there for a while because you didn't know what they were but obviously the police reacted," he said.

"I didn't see him but the police reacted pretty quickly and he took off down the street.

"You could tell it was gun shots and the town's pretty peaceful, so when you hear stuff like that you really start to be a bit concerned.

"We were pretty lucky none of the [hotel] guests were out in the street or it would've been on for young and old."

During the incident the surrounding streets were locked down and people in the area were urged to stay indoors.