Qld police shooting: Local cops formed extraction team to save colleague

Queensland’s Police Commissioner has lauded the bravery of sixteen country officers who formed their own extraction team in Wieambilla before elite officers arrived.

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Local general-duties police officers formed a heavily armed extraction team to rescue their fallen colleagues, driving on to the Train family’s western Darling Downs property in the vehicle of the trio’s murdered neighbour while under fire.

Sixteen officers, directed by a sergeant from Dalby, decided not to wait for the arrival of the elite Special Emergency Response Team, who were travelling by road and helicopter, in case their colleagues were still alive.

They instead risked their own lives by travelling down the driveway while former school principals Nathaniel and Stacey Train and Nathaniel’s brother Gareth fired rifles in their direction.

Their bravery was commended by Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll this week.

“That … was bravery beyond belief,” she said.

Conspiracy theorists Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth Train are believed to have lain in wait for a visit from police before opening fire on four young officers at their property to conduct a routine missing persons inquiry.

Constables Matthew Arnold, Rachel McCrow, Keely Brough and Randall Kirk went to the property on Monday afternoon to ask after Nathaniel Train, who had been reported missing in NSW.

Commissioner Katarina Carroll

Constable Keely Brough

The Wieambilla acreage was owned by Gareth and Stacey Train. Stacey was the former wife of Nathaniel.

The trio opened fire on the four police officers from the bushes as they approached the house, killing Constable Arnold and Constable McCrow.

Constable Kirk fled in a police car after being shot in the leg. Constable Brough fled into the bush and was pursued by the Trains, who shot into the trees and lit fires in an effort to flush her out.

It is understood local police gathered at the entrance of the property to form a plan to rescue their colleagues, in case constables Arnold and McCrow were still alive.

It was then that they discovered the Trains had killed their neighbour Alan Dare, who had come to investigate after seeing flames.

Mr Dare had arrived to see a second police car on fire and was shot as he attempted to call triple-0. It is understood the extraction team could not help Mr Dare and used his vehicle to drive towards the house, guns drawn, coming under fire as they did so.

They pulled their fallen colleagues into the car and drove back out to safety.

Constable Brough, who spent about two hours on the run from the Trains, was able to communicate with police via text message and was guided to an extraction point.

She got to safety and the bodies of constables Arnold and McCrow were recovered before the arrival of SERT.

The specialist officers then surrounded the property and eventually shot and killed all three Trains after attempting to negotiate with them.

“(It was) incredibly difficult and incredibly challenging and complex. I take my hat off to them,” Ms Carroll said on Tuesday.

“Decisions need to be made very, very quickly. When I think about what they did and how they did it … (it) was extraordinarily brave.

“They had to get in there … And they did that extraordinarily well knowing that they were going to be under fire.”

Queensland Police Union boss Ian Leavers also praised the courage of the police involved on the day, including Constable Brough.

“She did not know whether she was going to be shot or whether she was going to be burnt alive,” he said.

“What was going through her mind, one cannot comprehend.

“She was in contact with our other colleagues … She’s only been in the police for eight weeks, she’s just an amazing young officer.”