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 the shooters were experiencing the end of days, Queensland’s state coroner has found.

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

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

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

Ryan said it was “difficult to see” how any police officer would have been equipped to respond to the events at the rural property, west of Brisbane, on December 12, 2022.

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

Their killers, Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train, hid in the bushes, firing high-powered rifles and setting fires in a protracted battle with police at the Wains Road 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.

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.

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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 the knowledge that there was an active shooting situation at the property, 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 have done nothing to save their colleagues.

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