The final disgraceful act of the trio who executed two police officers and killed a neighbour has been revealed.
A group of four police officers came under fire by three people, two men and a woman, after attending a property in Wieambilla for a welfare check relating to missing NSW principal Nathaniel Train about 4.40pm on Monday.
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.
Their colleagues, Constable Keeley Brough and Constable Randall Kirk, both 28, only narrowly survived the attack; Brough became 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.
Constables Rachel McCrow, 26, and Matthew Arnold, 29, were gunned down at a property in the western Darling Downs. Photo / Supplied
Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers told NCA Newswire the execution of constables McCrow and Arnold was something only evil could conjure up.
He revealed the team of 16 special forces officers sent in to retrieve the dead bodies of their colleagues and Dare and to extract Constable Brough from the burning bush were also shot at in a final sickening act.
“It just brings a tear to the eye … it was a despicable act by this murdering, evil trio of people who were out here to cause harm,” he said.
“Police were shot as they went over the fence, Randall and Keely were following behind and immediately tried to take cover. Matt and Rachel, when they’ve been shot, have gone to the ground and they were [then] executed in cold blood.
“It was just a despicable, disgraceful act by this evil murdering trio who were clearly on a mission to cause maximum harm.”
Leavers said all officers involved in the horrible scenes on the Darling Downs on Tuesday night were “heroes”, including Dare.
“Keely and Randall are heroes, and the police led by one of the local sargeants who led the team in to retrieve Matt and Rachel while under gun fire, they’re heroes,” he said.
“They’ve really stepped up; they haven’t thought about their safety, they just thought about their colleagues.
“What I do know, is that after [the ambush], as the 16 went to retrieve Matt and Rachel, that they were fired at continuously.
“They put their lives on the line to try to retrieve their colleagues in the hope they would be able to render first aid and save their lives but sadly that didn’t happen.”
Nathaniel Train previously worked as the principal of Innisfail East State School. Photo / Supplied
Leavers said he also wanted to pay his respect to Dare, who had perished trying to help Constable Brough.
“What’s even more concerning is the neighbour who went to investigate when he saw the fire,” he said.
“We know the fire was lit to try to bring Keely out and Keely was under the impression that if she stood up that she would be shot or she may be burnt alive.
“The neighbour who went to investigate was shot in the back by this murdering trio. These evil people were clearly on a mission which none of us will ever comprehend.”
Leavers said while the events of Monday evening were nothing short of pure evil, he was heartened by the outpouring of support for officers.
“It’s a tough day for police here locally. Dalby and the entire area have been doing it really tough and I don’t really know if they’ve realised what has happened and the effects [of that] long term,” he told NCA NewsWire.
“In Chinchilla they’ve run out of flowers.
“Seeing little kids and elderly people pay tribute shows how much they actually respect police and what they do.
“Often it’s only in tragedies like this that you see the silent majority come out and show respect for police.
Leavers said the slaughter at Wieambilla would leave a “ripple effect” across the community but together both police and the community would hopefully be able to support each other during this difficult time.
“That murdering trio won’t be able to murder again and that is important to us,” he said.
