Cops form guard of honour for neighbour Alan Dare slain in Wieambilla police execution
Video shows how police honoured a neighbour killed while trying to help during the Wieambilla siege that also saw two officers executed in cold blood.
A man killed during a horrific ambush in Wieambilla that saw two police officers executed has been honoured by emergency responders.
Moving video shows police officers standing in a guard of honour as the body of Alan Dare was removed from the rural property on Tuesday morning.
Video of the touching moment was shared by granddaughter Renee Lee, who said Mr Dare would be “always and forever in our hearts”.
The 56-year-old was killed after going to investigate a shooting at a neighbouring property at around 5pm yesterday.
Loved ones paid tribute under the video post, lauding Mr Dare as “amazing” and “gentleman”.
“Al was like a father to me. He will be missed greatly,” one woman wrote.
“R.I.P. to one of the greatest men I’ve ever been lucky to know in my entire life xxx”
A group of police officers came under fire by three people, two men and a woman, after attending the property for a welfare check relating to missing NSW principal Nathaniel Train about 4.40pm on Monday.
Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, and Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, died in a hail of bullets during the attack.
Mr Dare arrived about 5pm after noticing smoke coming from the property and is understood to have been shot in the back.
The group “didn‘t stand a chance” against the group of camouflaged gunmen, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters on Tuesday.
Ms Carroll told reporters the attack was intended to kill as many people as possible.
“As I said, I went to the scene, it was confronting as you could appreciate … in my opinion, those officers did not stand a chance,” she said.
“The fact that two got out alive is a miracle.
“The incident is a reminder of the unpredictable nature of policing.”
Two police officers survived the attack and have been identified as Constable Keeley Brough and Constable Randall Kirk, both 28.
One of the surviving officers, Constable Brough, who had only joined the police force nine weeks ago, fled the scene and escaped into nearby bushland.
The group then set fire to the bushes to try to smoke her out.
Mr Dare then came to investigate after the incident took place and was also shot and killed at around 5pm.
It’s understood further shots were fired into his and the officers’ bodies, and the dead and injured officers’ glocks were taken.
Police declared an emergency declaration zone by 6pm, encompassing the area between Chinchilla Tara Rd, Wieambilla Rd, Bennets School Rd, and Mary St.
At 2am, Queensland Police confirmed two men and a woman – Nathaniel Train, his brother Gareth and a female partner – had been killed by officers at 10.30pm.
A specialist police team of 16 officers then rescued Constable Brough, with Constable Kirk taken to hospital.
Both officers who were killed in the incident were based at Tara Police Station and previously worked in the Dalby region.
Constable McCrow joined the force in June 2021, while Constable Arnold became an officer in March 2020.