‘I’ve got blood on my face’: chilling Footage from Wieambilla shooting

The surviving officers of the Wieambilla shooting were forced to hide in sparse bushland as they were hunted down by two shooters who had already killed their colleagues.

Constable Rachel McCrow, 26, and Constable Matthew Arnold, 29, were gunned down at the property in the western Darling Downs, about three hours west of Brisbane.

The surviving officers of the Wieambilla shooting were forced to hide in sparse bushland as they were hunted down by two shooters who had already killed their colleagues.

Chilling footage captured by Constable Randall Kirk’s body camera was played during the first day of the coronial inquest into the deaths of Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and neighbour Alan Dare, showing the immediate aftermath of the shooting on December 12, 2022.

The four young officers were making a run-of-the-mill house call in response to a report about a missing persons at the remote property at Wieambilla, in western Queensland.

After the first shot rang out, killing Mr Arnold, Mr Kirk can be heard yelling to their fellow officers to get back before hiding behind a tree. Neither he nor new police recruit Keely Brough had reception on their police radios and were forced to use their personal mobile phones to call for help.

Constable Randall Kirk. Picture: Peta McEachern

Mr Kirk called Sergeant Justin Drier at Chinchilla Police Station and reported Ms McCrow and Mr Arnold were dead and that the offenders had a long rifle and a pistol. The two shooters continued looking for him and Ms Brough, and Mr Kirk told Mr Drier that they knew where he was.

“They are coming over, do I run?” Mr Kirk asked, before firing at them.

He heard the two men say: “that was a mistake boys, come out, come out and get on the f---ing ground or you die”.

As they came closer to his hiding spot, and without much cover, he ran to the car and made a getaway.

Mr Kirk was shot at nine times, he didn’t realise one had pierced his hip.

“I’ve been shot,” Mr Kirk can be heard saying on body-worn camera footage.

“I don’t know where, f--k. I’ve got blood on my face, I don’t know where I’ve been shot.”

Counsel assisting the state coroner Ruth O’Gorman, told Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday that those who attended the property on December 12, 2022 had no idea what was about to unfold.

“This tragic incident sharply reminds us police officer’s job is sometimes dangerous,” she said.

“Sometimes, very rarely a police officer does not make it home.

“We know that many police officers have been deeply distressed and disturbed by the loss of two of their colleagues and we acknowledge that this inquest, and the evidence heard, it is likely to affect police officers across the state, and to their families.”

On December 12, 2022, NSW Police sent a request to Chinchilla Police Station asking officers to attend a remote property at 251 Wains Rd, Wieambilla, in search of missing school principal Nathaniel Train.

Ms McCrow and Mr Arnold were working the afternoon shift at neighbouring Tara Police Station and joined Ms Kirk and Ms Blough from Chinchilla to the property, about 30 minutes from each township in Queensland’s Western Downs.

They all arrived around 4.30pm, and jumped the front gate before they began walking down the long, dirt driveway to the home they knew Mr Train’s brother and his wife, Gareth and Stacey Train, lived.

The four young officers were making small talk as they walked towards the homestead. They had only walked 120m and had been on the property for two minutes when the first shot rang out. Mr Arnold was killed at 4.37pm from a strike to the chest.

McCrow dropped to her hands and knees, moving to the left before trying to move back.

She tried to make a call on her radio, but was shot three times, once in the back and twice in the legs. At 4.45pm a male shooter began walking towards her. Despite pleading with him, Ms McCrow was killed with a shot in the head from close range.

Legal councillors Ruth O’Gorman and Anna Cappellano-Higgins. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

In the moments before she died, Ms McCrow recorded a situational report and left a message for loved ones.

“Despite being ambushed, in pain, and no doubt terrified, constable McCrow showed great courage under fire,” Ms O’Gorman said.

“She had the presence of mind to record important details on her body worn camera And she had the strength and grace to record a message for her family.”

While Mr Kirk and Keely Brough were hiding, Mr Dare was killed. He and wife Kerry had heard gunshots all afternoon, but that was not uncommon in the area. Ms Dare had called triple-0 to make a report, while Mr Dare called his neighbour, Victor Lewis, and together they went to the Train’s property.

Alan Dare died in the shooting.

A video from Mr Dare’s phone captured plumes of black smoke.

“It’s a car,” he said. “Don’t get too close.”

“I’m going to stay away Vic … there is a car driving off.

“Another one, someone just got out of that other car. They walked off.”

A moment later, he was shot dead with a blow to the chest.

The inquest will examine how much information NSW police shared with the officers about the missing persons investigation and the later decisions for four officers to attend the Wains Rd property.

Detailed forensic examination of the bodies, relevant items found at the property and firearms, “significant” volume of body-worn camera footage, POLAIR footage and SERT footage were also examined.

All of the deaths were recorded. Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold’s deaths were captured on their body-worn cameras, while Alan Dare was filming the fires at Wains Rd and inadvertently captured his own death. Police helicopters recorded the moments each of the Trains died.

None of these videos will be played in court during the inquest. They do, however, make up the brief of evidence.

Interview and statements taken from more than 150 witnesses will be put before State Coroner Terry Ryan, with 65 set to come before the court in the next five weeks.

The start of the inquest was delayed by an hour due to technology issues in the overflow courtroom, where around three dozen of the more than 100 people in attendance were left to sit.

Rachel McCrow’s mother Judy McCrow. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Before proceedings, the families Ms McCrow and Mr Arnold made their first statement to the media. Speaking on behalf of both families, Judy McCrow said they hoped to find the truth of what happened in the lead-up and on that “horrific day” to ensure it never happens again.

“What unfolded in Wieambilla on December 12, 2022 should never have happened,” Ms McCrow said.

“No police officer – committed to their job their colleagues and the community – should die under such terrible brutal circumstances.

“We have never before spoken directly to the media but today is different. As hard as this to stand here, we know how important it is.”

“This is because we don’t want the loss of Rachel and Matthew to be in vain. We must persevere through our pain to honour their memory and strive for a safer tomorrow.

“While the void in our lives will never be filled, we hope any reforms forward by the Coroner will prevent a tragedy like this happening again and other families experiencing our heartbreak.”