Train family police shooting in Wieambilla declared a religious terror attack

Train family diaries labelling police “monsters and demons” led investigators to better understand the religiously motivated terror attack.

Diary entries and social media posts by the Train family revealed they believed police were “monsters and demons” before carrying out Australia’s first religiously motivated terror attack.

A group of four police officers came under fire by Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train after attending a property in Wieambilla, Queensland for a welfare check relating to missing NSW principal Nathaniel about 4.40pm on Monday December 12, 2022.

Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, and Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, died in a hail of bullets fired by Train, his brother Gareth and Gareth‘s partner Stacey, moments after arriving.

Aerial vision of the crime scene at Wieambilla, Queensland. Source: 9 News.

Two other colleagues, Constable Keeley Brough and Constable Randall Kirk, both 28, only narrowly survived the attack, with Ms Brough becoming trapped in burning bushland as the assailants tried to smoke her out.

Neighbour Alan Dare, 56, arrived about 5pm after noticing smoke billowing from the property and is understood to have been fatally shot in the back.

On Thursday, Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford told media while the investigation into the attack was “far from” complete, exhaustive evidence had been collected.

This included entries to Stacey Train’s diary, texts and emails sent by the trio, social media posts and a whopping 190 statements and recorded interviews. CCTV taken from the property and video from body cams worn by the four police officers has also been examined.

Links to Christian extremism exposed

Deputy commissioner Linford said investigators had concluded the Train family had “acted as an autonomous cell: to carry out their “religiously motivated terrorist attack”.

Constable Rachel McCrow, 26, and Constable Matthew Arnold, 29, were gunned down at the property in the western Darling Downs.

The investigation found the trio were subscribed to the Christian extremist ideology of premillennialism.

“Christian extremist ideology has been linked to other attacks around the world, but this is the first time we’ve seen it Australia,” deputy commissioner Linford said.

“We absolutely believe they acted as an autonomous cell, but one of our inquiries is that they did make social media postings and there were people in the US who did monitor those ... and make responses.”

Other similar religiously motivated attacks linked to Christian extremist ideologies include the 51-day Waco siege in Texas in 1993.

Deputy commissioner Linford explained the Train family’s “fundamentalist Christian theology” was based on Premillennialism, the belief Jesus will return to the Earth, bringing a lengthy period of peace after a period of trial and tribulation.

She said there was a lot of written evidence that all three members of the Train family believed the “End of Days” was coming and were preparing for the what was to come.

Diary entries show extent of planning

The Train family felt the period of turbulence had arrived, based on their beliefs surrounding their distrust in police and state, climate change, the pandemic, global conflicts and social disparity.

“All of the examination of the material, we can’t find any evidence they identify themselves a sovereign citizens,” deputy commissioner Linford said.

Nathaniel Train and Stacey Train on their wedding day in 1995. Picture: Channel 9

Stacey’s diary entries and other written evidence examined, included multiple references of police being referred to as “monsters and demons”.

“We don’t believe this attack was random or spontaneous, we do believe it was attack directed at police,” deputy commissioner Linford said.

“There’s entries for the last couple of years in (Stacey’s) diary.

“It’s not just one thing, there appears to be a range of catalyst events. For instance Nathaniel experienced a heart attack in August 2021.

“I think that was a profound moment for him and his belief in God, and he’s certainly become more religious as a consequence of that event.

“Certainly Covid was another catalyst for them.

“They certainly had their views around anti-vaccination and a consequential anti-government sentiment.”

Nathaniel Train.

Deputy commissioner Linford said examination of the Wieambilla property found man-made dirt mounds, steel barriers, mirrors on trees, three compound bow and arrows, a number of knives and six firearms.

She said the Train family were using radios to communicate with each other during the attack and even had a trap door under the house ready for a possible escape.

“We can see well worn tracks between the hides, that gives us an indication they hadn’t just (created them),” deputy commissioner Linford said.

“If we look at things they’ve written in the diaries and notes, it would indicate it’s been some time.”

She said the trio acted alone in their attack, but investigations continued overseas.

“I want to stress that there is no evidence at this time that there’s anyone else in Australia that participated or assisted in this attack,” deputy commissioner Linford said.

Alan Dare was killed during the Wieambilla siege.

Police search for Nathaniel

Nathaniel had been reported missing by his estranged wife in NSW.

Police had also issued a warrant for his arrest in connection to alleged firearm offences after he left guns he owned abandoned while trying to illegally cross the border from NSW into Queensland.

Deputy commissioner Linford said an investigation into his whereabouts had been handed over to Chinchilla police, with one officer attending Gareth and Stacey’s property to find Nathaniel.

“They (the Train family) had become aware that Nathaniel had been reported as a missing person, they were also aware that police had been trying to locate him in relation to the firearms offences,” she said.

“I don’t think there’s any question that they would have known that at some point in time police were coming, but whether or not they would have anticipated that it would have specifically been that day, we wouldn’t say that.

“The way they had set their property up, there were clear indications they had done a lot of planning.”

Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford says the trio acted alone. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Deputy commissioner Linford said none of the trio had a criminal history that could lead police to be suspicious of any planned attack.

“This is not Nathaniel‘s address,” she said.

“In fact we can see (from the reading) Nathaniel wasn’t actually residing at the address, he might have been somewhere nearby and camping.

“He didn’t have any criminal history, this was a fella who was a principal of a high school, he had no other criminal history.

“I think he had a driving offence from several years ago but there was nothing to indicate to those officers that day that they were going to be ambushed.

“We’ve taken statements from a range of the Train family members and maintained contact with them.

“It’s helped us glean a lot of information about their ideology and things leading up to the months and weeks before this occurred.”