Queensland police have shot a teenage boy in the abdomen after he allegedly threatened two officers with knives.

The boy, 16, was struck in the abdomen by at least one bullet early on Sunday when two officers fired guns in Brisbane’s southwest, police said.

The president of the Queensland Police Union, Ian Leavers, said the officers rushed to help the boy but he resisted, injuring one of them.

The boy was taken to hospital with a non-life-threatening injury while the female officer was treated for a suspected broken arm.

Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said the two police officers involved in the incident had gone to investigate reports of a disturbance at Forest Lake when they came across the allegedly armed teenager in a street.

“Unfortunately during the engagement with that young man, it was necessary, that the officers – fearing for their safety – felt it necessary to discharge their weapons,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Both officers fired a shot, and at least one bullet struck the boy in the lower abdomen, the detective said.

“This is a tragedy for the young man and his family,” he said.

He said police had the equipment to deal with dangerous situations but none of them ever wanted to have to discharge their firearm at work.

The ethical standards command is investigating the incident.