Wieambilla ambush not an act of religious terrorism, coroner finds

The 2022 fatal ambush of police officers in Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, was not an act of religious terrorism but the result of a shared delusional disorder brought on by a belief that the shooters were experiencing the end of days, Queensland’s state coroner has found.

Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, along with neighbour Alan Dare, were killed by religious fanatics and conspiracy theorists Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train on December 12 of that year.

Rather than an act of terrorism, State Coroner Terry Ryan found the trio acted “defensively within their delusional framework to defend themselves and their property from what they regarded was an evil advance on them”.

Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were shot dead during the ambush in Wieambilla.Credit: Queensland Police

“In the months before 12 December 2022, they had been seeking to dissuade police engagement with them on their property, just as they took detailed steps to fortify their property against such engagement and waited to ambush any police who crossed their boundary,” he said.

“For these reasons, I accept the submission that it is not possible to conclude that Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel committed a terrorist act.”

Ryan conceded the legal definition of terrorism was narrow and might not reflect the reality of the times.

“I accept the commissioner of the Queensland Police Service’s submission that the definition of ‘terrorist act’ in the Commonwealth Criminal Code, which was inserted in 2002, was designed to respond to large, well-planned and well-financed activities,” he said.

“I agree that the definition is unhelpfully narrow and may not reflect the current security landscape.”

Ryan handed down the findings of his inquest in Brisbane on Friday, more than a year after wrapping up the hearings last August.

Neighbour Alan Dare, who also died during the Wieambilla ambush.

He said it was “difficult to see” how any police officer would have been equipped to respond to the events at the rural property, about 270 kilometres west of Brisbane.

“Even if they had been wearing a vest with hard armoured plates, I am not satisfied that this additional ballistic protection may have prevented their deaths,” he said.

“Given the wholly unexpected and unprecedented nature of what was lying in wait for constables Arnold, McCrow, Kirk and Brough at the Wains Road property on 12 December 2022, it is difficult to see how any responding officers could have been adequately equipped to respond to the events as they unfolded.”

McCrow and Arnold were gunned down while responding to a missing person’s report from NSW.

Their killers hid in the bushes, firing high-powered rifles and setting fires in a protracted battle with police at the property.

Nathaniel Train was found to be Arnold’s killer, and Gareth Train was found to have killed McCrow.

Two constables, Randall Kirk and Keely Brough, escaped with the help of a police extraction team, which arrived at the scene about 6.30pm – almost two hours after the first shots were fired.

“Not only were the actions of the extraction team appropriate, but each officer was also incredibly brave,” Ryan said.

“They each volunteered to enter a highly dangerous situation to save or attempt to save their fellow officers, fully appreciating the risk to their lives.”

The extraction team’s decision not to extract Dare’s body, Ryan said, was appropriate given the “highly dangerous” situation in which they found themselves.

Kirk came under heavy gunfire as he made a dash from behind a tree to a nearby police vehicle, while Brough hid in long grass for more than two hours as the Trains hunted her, lighting fires in an attempt to flush her out.

The families of Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, led by Judy McCrow, outside Brisbane Magistrates Court after State Coroner Terry Ryan handed down his findings into the Wieambilla ambush.Credit: Cameron Atfield

Neighbour Alan Dare was also shot dead after entering the property to investigate the fire, before the Trains were killed by tactical police hours later.

Dare entered the property without knowledge of the unfolding situation, but Ryan found no adverse findings against police or the triple-0 operator to whom Dare spoke.

Ryan’s inquest heard from dozens of witnesses, including evidence that NSW police did not pass on emails that might have alerted Queensland officers to the risks involved in engaging with the Trains.

Ryan found constables Kirk and Brough could not have done anything to save their colleagues.

It was also “regrettable”, Ryan said, that NSW police had not forwarded information to their Queensland colleagues, in particular four emails from Nathaniel Train’s wife that could have informed the officers’ risk assessment of the situation.

“The missed opportunities for further inquiries to have been made must be extremely distressing for the families of Constable Arnold, Constable McCrow and Mr Dare,” he said.

Speaking outside court on behalf of the slain officers’ families, Constable McCrow’s mother, Judy McCrow, said they were “initially disappointed” with the recommendations, but needed more time to process and respond to the findings.

“These recommendations, of course, come too late for Matt and Rachel – and Alan Dare – who we believe should still be alive today if better processes were in place,” she said.

Ryan made 10 recommendations focused on enhancing police safety, including the provision of more drones for remote and rural Queensland police to help make risk assessments.

Outside court, acting Queensland Police Union president Andy Williams said that would be a welcome development.

Williams said the case also highlighted a lack of interstate intelligence sharing between Australian police services.

“I’d like to see police across the country have access to each other’s databases,” he said.

“We go and we accrue information on people, and then they cross the border and, effectively, police have to start again. We should have more access to police databases so we can see what’s happened previously in different states.”

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