US man arrested in connection to Wieambilla police shooting
A man has been arrested in the US state of Arizona in relation to the shooting in Wieambilla, which left two police officers and a neighbour dead.
The American man Gareth and Stacey Train spoke to in their final video uploaded online after executing two police officers and a neighbour in southern Queensland last year has been arrested in Arizona for allegedly inciting the Christian terrorist attack.
Donald Day, 58, faced two indictments by a grand jury in a US court on Wednesday, one of which related to the “religiously motivated terrorist attack” by Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train at their rural Queensland home on December 12, 2022.
Queensland Police Service assistant commissioner Cheryl Scanlon said investigators were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify “any residual threats” posed to the Australian public.
“It’s important for the wider community to see that we don’t leave any stone unturned with these things,” Ms Scanlon said.
“If it takes us across the world to do that, to have that reach given the impacts of the internet and the online world, then that’s the way it has to be.”
After executing young police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold and innocent neighbour Alan Dare, the Trains retreated inside their home and began an hours-long standoff with police. During that time, couple Gareth and Stacey recorded and uploaded a video to YouTube, calling out to “Don”.
“They came to kill us and we killed them. If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons … you’re a coward,” Gareth Train said.
“We’ll see you when we get home. We’ll see you at home, Don, love you,” Stacey said.
Gareth first contacted Mr Day in May 2020, commenting on a video the US man had uploaded to YouTube.
It wasn’t until a year later that the two began to comment back and forth on each other’s content.
Videos on an older YouTube account set up in 2014 by Mr Day were also accessed and viewed by the couple between May 2021 and December 2022.
Mr Day shared the Train’s extremist Christian ideology called Premillennialism, with police confirming the messages they shared contained Christian End of Days wording. The Trains were also anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists and sovereign citizens.
It is unclear whether Mr Day applied for bail; he has been remanded in custody. A search warrant has been ordered for his remote property 30kms north of Heber Overgaard, a small town northwest of Phoenix.
Ms Scanlon noted there were “some similarities” between Mr Day’s and the Trains’ off-the-grid lifestyles. “I haven’t been on to the property … I’ve been provided some briefing about it (but) there are some similarities,” she said.
The charge Mr Day faces, communicating a threat to injure a person, is a felony that carries up to five years in prison. He faces a second indictment unrelated to the Wieambilla investigation.
Ms Scanlon said it was “early days” in the investigation, and it was unclear whether Mr Day could face charges in Australia or be extradited.
“Evidence has been seized and is being analysed by the FBI,” Ms Scanlon said. “The QPS will be making formal requests to the FBI for any evidential material removed from the Arizona property for analysis.
“This includes the identification of any further contact between the Trains and the man.”
A criminal and coronial investigation continues.
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