Opera House tribute to brave slain Queensland cops who unwittingly walked into a massacre
The sails of Sydney’s iconic landmark will turn blue on Wednesday night as NSW pays tribute to the two police officers killed in Qld in Monday’s conspiracy-crazed ambush.
NSW
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The sails of Sydney Opera House will turn blue on Wednesday night to honour two brave police officers who died in Monday’s horrific siege across the border in Queensland.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Sydney tribute was fitting for the pair who lost their lives after attending the rural Queensland property at the behest of NSW Police to find missing man Nathaniel Train.
“I also want to reiterate my comments yesterday and on behalf of everybody across the state of New South Wales, pass on our thoughts and prayers to the families of those fallen police officers in Queensland who died doing their job,” he said.
“I don’t believe our police, our bright our brave men and women in blue, get the recognition that they deserve a day in day out.
“By lighting the sails blue tonight, we show that we are standing alongside the people of Queensland and giving an opportunity for people across our state and the country to recognise the risks our policemen and women take every day to keep our community safe.”
Police Minister Paul Toole said police show incredible bravery every day.
“The devastating loss of Constable Rachel McCrow and Constable Matthew Arnold in the line of duty will be felt deeply by their loved ones, colleagues and every force and community across the country,” Mr Toole said.
“Tonight we light the sails blue in their honour — and to recognise every man and woman in blue who has made it their job to run towards danger to keep our community safe.”
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the entire police family was in mourning.
“This touches police right across Australia and the community mourns alongside us,” Commissioner Webb said.
She said the inquiry into the attack was being led by Queensland, and she could not comment on the lines of inquiry.
When asked if the Train brothers were on a “watch list” Comm Webb said the four officers were responding to a routine inquiry when they were ambushed.
The sails of the Opera House will turn blue from 9pm Wednesday until dawn on Thursday.
EDUCATION MINISTER ‘HORRIFIED’
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell on Wednesday also said she had been “horrified” to learn Nathaniel Train, one of the men involved in the shooting deaths of two police officers and one neighbour in a bloody massacre on a remote Queensland property, was a former primary school principal in NSW.
“(For) the Walgett school community … I can’t even begin to imagine how they’re dealing with this. It’s just one of those things that I don’t think anyone as a human being can process, and it’s really distressing.
“Obviously we need to make sure that we’re providing support to that school community, which we are, and we’ll do anything that they need both now and in the future.”
Ms Mitchell offered “thoughts, prayers and condolences” to the families and loved ones of the slain officers, as well as the survivors and entire Queensland Police Force.
“We will make sure, obviously from the Department of Education perspective that we will absolutely provide any relevant information that we can to the Queensland authorities as they investigate this matter.
“Our hearts are just breaking for those who have been impacted. It’s a horrible tragedy.”
Ms Mitchell also addressed the allegations made by One Nation MP Mark Latham, that Mr Train’s concerns about NAPLAN cheating at Walgett during his tenure as principal were not adequately addressed.
“We had department witnesses provide evidence — that’s all publicly available,” she said.
“None of those claims were substantiated by the Department of Education executive.”
HOW OFFICERS WALKED INTO A MASSACRE
As the four young police officers pulled up to the isolated yellow-sided weatherboard home about 4.40pm on Monday, they had no idea that inside was a cache of ammunition and weaponry controlled by survivalist and conspiracy theorist Gareth Train, his wife Stacey and Gareth’s mentally-unstable brother Nathaniel.
It was a 43-hectare “hobby farm” at Wieambilla, 300 kilometres west of Brisbane, bought by Gareth and Stacey seven years ago where their wacky, but ultimately, deadly beliefs had festered.
Gareth had joined the online conspiracy, anti-authoritarian website Citizens Initiated Referendum where he has recently posted that he had been “ark homesteading for the past five years preparing to survive tomorrow” and had warned police off his property.
Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, Matthew Arnold, 26, Keely Brough, 28, and Randall Kirk, also 28, had been sent on what on any other day would have been a routine welfare check.
NSW Police had asked their Queensland counterparts to check whether Nathaniel, 46, a former Walgett primary school principal, who had been reported missing on December 4, was at the property. It is believed his wife reported him missing to Walgett police.
Nathaniel left Walgett, where his wife was also a teacher, in August last year as his mental health deteriorated after a massive heart attack.
He lost contact with his family on October 9 this year.
As the officers approached the house, Constables McCrow and Arnold were mowed down by the two brothers who were heavily armed and dressed in camouflage gear.
As they lay on the ground, the brothers walked up to them and fired more shots into their bodies, murdering them in cold blood before taking their guns.
Their colleagues managed to escape. Constable Kirk was shot in the leg while Constable Brough fled into bushland, pursued by the gunmen who set the bush on fire to drive her out.
The Trains’ neighbour, Alan Dare, 58, went to check after seeing the fire and hearing the gunshots. He was also shot dead, his body lying near the front gate.
As police in both NSW and Queensland launched inquiries into why no-one had realised the danger the young constables were unwittingly sent into, an emotional Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said it was a miracle two officers escaped with their lives.
“I went to the scene – it is confronting, as you can appreciate,” Ms Carroll said.
“In my opinion, those officers did not stand a chance.”
Despite their own perilous circumstances, rookie cop Const Brough and Const Kirk were able to raise the alarm.
At 6.11pm an emergency declaration was made under the Public Safety Preservation Act, nearby Coal Seam Gas workers were told by email to avoid the area and the state’s crack Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) arrived by helicopter.
The 16-strong squad retrieved the bodies of the fallen officers. It is understood the Trains opened fire first and all three were killed by police in the shootout.
The windscreen of an armoured vehicle used by the tactical police to drive up to the property was riddled with bullet holes in the heavily-fortified glass.
“Despite police efforts, the matter was unable to be resolved peacefully and all three offenders were fatally shot by specialist officers,” Ms Carroll said.
“In total, six people have lost their lives.”
An ethical standards command investigation is underway into the police response, with oversight from the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission as police investigate whether the incident was a staged ambush.
Flags across Queensland’s government buildings flew at half mast and tributes were paid to the bravery of all four officers.
Constables Kirk and Brough were taken to Chinchilla Hospital.
Both were from Chinchilla police station.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the three deaths as horrific.
“Every police officer today and their families will be feeling devastated, impacted very personally by this,” Mr Albanese said.
“My heart particularly goes out to the families and friends of the police officers and also this innocent victim as well, this neighbour, who was murdered in this atrocity as well … this is just horrific news.
“This barbaric action is something that has just shocked I think everyone, and I was certainly shocked when I received the call last night.”
Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, himself a Queensland police officer before entering politics, said it was shocking.
“When you have a few police officers who are turning up to check an address, walking up the driveway and they’re gunned down in a cold-blooded style, that will send a shiver down the spine of any police officer attending any job,” Mr Dutton said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Police Minister Paul Toole laid flowers at the police memorial in Sydney‘s Domain.
“It‘s a very sad day, our hearts go out to the families of the police officers who lost their lives. We remember them today and thank them for the sacrifice they made,” Mr Perrottet said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, paying respect to the slain police officers, said the tragedy was “horrific” and the two constables were so young.
“Sometimes we take our police for granted,” she said.
“Sometimes we forget the risk that they take, every, every single day. Our hearts just break for these two beautiful young officers who were just doing their job.”
Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said the officers “paid the ultimate sacrifice” by simply doing their job.
“I know around Queensland flowers are being delivered to many police stations and the public support that is continuing to flow in really makes a difference for hardworking men and women of police.’’
Originally published as Opera House tribute to brave slain Queensland cops who unwittingly walked into a massacre
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