A Queensland coroner has recounted the day two police officers and a neighbour were gunned down in an ambush at a rural property in Wieambilla, near the small country town of Chinchilla, on Dec. 12, 2022.
As part of coroner Terry Ryan’s findings it was determined that the three perpetrators—brothers Gareth and Nathaniel Train and Gareth’s wife, Stacey, who had previously been married to Nathaniel—were “morally insane” at the time of the shootings, which had previously been branded as a type of Christian extremism.
In the coroner’s findings, which were released on Nov. 21, it was found that Gareth had spiralled into an obsession with conspiracy theories, which had then spread to both Nathaniel and Stacey, with all three determined to have developed undiagnosed mental disorders including shared delusions.
It was heard the three occupants of the rural Wains Road property held the belief that police officers were satanic demons, and as such, were under the wrongful delusion they were under attack.
The determination ruled out the theory the three had carried out a terror attack.
Harrowing Details
The coroner’s findings revealed heartbreaking details around the deaths of the two officers, who had been part of a group of four investigating a missing person’s report.
Constable Matthew Arnold died instantly after being shot in the chest by Nathaniel at about 4.37 p.m. while the group approached the home on foot down a long driveway.
Constable Rachel McCrow tried to scramble away on her hands and knees, but was shot in the back. She could not reach police through her radio, and was shot in both legs.
McCrow’s body cam then captured the moment a man is seen holding a rifle and shooting in her direction.
As she lay wounded, the constable recounted what had happened so it would be recorded on her body worn camera, before leaving a final message of love to her family.
“Despite having been ambushed, in pain and no doubt terrified, Constable McCrow showed great courage under fire,” Ryan noted.
“She had the presence of mind to record important details on her body worn camera and the strength and the grace to record a message of love for her family.”
By 4.45 p.m., McCrow discharged her police firearm 15 times, emptying her magazine as Gareth approached her.
A brief verbal exchange took place before Gareth shot her in the head at close range, just one minute later.
Colleagues Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk survived, with Kirk sustaining a bullet to the hip as he fled and Brough hiding for hours in just eight inches of grass as the Trains lit a fire around her to try and force her out.
At one stage while she was hiding, Brough heard the Trains searching for her and saying “there’s one more somewhere,” as she told a emergency 000 operator on her mobile phone: “I think they know I’m here, I’m scared.”
Brough remained hidden in the grass even as she felt the two-metre flames at her feet.
The police car that remained after Kirk fled was also set alight by the Trains.
Experts Analyse Events
The coroner determined that initially, Stacey and Nathaniel had not shared in Gareth’s conspiracies and delusions, but later became more involved with them.Associate Professor of Politics at Deakin University Josh Roosewas was enlisted to analyse more than 2,500 primary source documents to determine the political, religious, and ideological influences that had shaped the Trains’ mentality in the lead-up to the events of Dec. 12, 2022.
Roose determined the Trains had been spurred on by a religious conviction that the “end times” were imminent and Gareth’s obsession with conspiracies.
Dr. Andrew Aboud, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, found Gareth met the diagnostic criteria for delusional disorder, while Stacey and Nathaniel met the diagnostic criteria for shared psychotic disorder.
Aboud found that while their beliefs contained elements of Christianity, they also included their own paranoid ways of thinking outside of it, such as their belief police officers were “demons.”
“Many of these beliefs were clearly bizarre, persecutory, highly referential and delusional and had little or no direct association with premillennialism or Christian religion as others would understand it,” Aboud said.
The expert concluded that all three had been afflicted with a shared psychotic illness at the time of the shootings, labelling the three “morally insane.”
It was concluded that it was not possible to declare the incident a terrorist attack, because the three wrongfully believed they were under attack, and wrongfully believed they had to defend themselves against attack.
Numerous rounds of ammunition, military gear, weapons and a number of shooting hide-outs were located on the property.
It was concluded that no government department could have known what the Trains had been intending to do on that day.
Both Train men only had mild criminal offences on file, none of which involved violence.
The Trains were all killed on-site by special police operatives.
Recommendations, Mental Health Checks for Gun Ownership
A number of recommendations were handed down in the coroner’s report (pdf).It recommended the state government consider better funding for the Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (QFTAC)—a joint police and mental health initiative—to better support its ability to identify and intervene in appropriate cases to assist individuals referred to it, in order to improve public safety.
Another recommendation was made to increase awareness of QFTAC among frontline workers.
A number of additional recommendations were made, including increased counter-ambush training for officers, improving communications blackspots, and significant staffing increases in the district.
A further recommendation was put forth that mental health assessments be part of a requirement for legal gun ownership, given that Nathaniel was a legal weapons holder with little criminal history.
Recommendations were also made for more 000 operator training, and for remote piloted aircraft system to better protect police—which are already in development stages.
In his opinion, Ryan determined there was little that officers could have done to prevent the unexpected attack.
Familes’ Disappointment
Heartbroken families of the slain constables, Arnold, 26 and McCrow, 29, labelled the coronial findings as “disappointing.”The families were visibly distressed by the finding that the events were not deemed an act of terror, but rather the work of three people in the throes of a bizarre, dangerous shared delusion.
“Matt and Rachel’s lives were precious,” Rachel’s mother, Judy McCrow told AAP.
“Their deaths—under such horrible, brutal circumstances—were preventable. Because we love and miss them so much, we will continue to forever grieve and live shattered lives.”
Mrs. McCrow thanked the coroner for his work.
“Like us, he was forced to watch the harrowing videos and listen to every disturbing and disgusting detail,” she said.
“We hoped it was enough to guide urgently required reforms.
“Any coronial recommendation must prevent a tragedy like this from happening again, and we are initially disappointed with the coronial recommendations, but we need time to read, process and respond to the findings.”
Mrs McCrow, who said her family would advocate for change, said every police officer must be protected, and entrusted with the skills and ability to keep others safe.
