A six-hour siege west of Brisbane ended with six people dead as police have revealed the property owners were part of an anti-police conspiracy theory community.
Four young police officers went to the town of Wieambilla around 4:30 pm local time on Monday to investigate the disappearance of Nathaniel Train.
They entered the property, approximately 300 kilometres west of Brisbane, when "they were just inundated with gunfire", Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers told media.
He said the quartet "never had a chance" as they were hit by a "hail of bullets."
Officers Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were killed in an execution-style shooting while Randall Kirk and Keely Brough, both 28, managed to flee for their lives.
Ms Brough was just eight weeks into the job as a newly qualified copper and hid in nearby shrubs as she texted loved ones to say her goodbyes as she anticipated her death.
The gunmen lit a fire in the bush in what officers have said was an attempt to "smoke" and "coax" Keely out of her hiding place to then kill her. However, she did not move and called for help.
The fire caught the attention of neighbour Alan Dare, 58, who went to investigate it and was then killed in cold blood.
The men responsible for the deadly ambush have been identified as Nathaniel Train, a former school principal, and his brother Gareth. Mr Train's wife Stacey Train, 45, was also killed at the scene.
The Guardian revealed that Mr Train had become deeply entangled in an online conspiracy community, where he posted about his mistrust of police.
He also claimed the Port Arthur massacre of 1996 in which 35 people were killed, the worst massacre in modern Australian history, was a false-flag operation.
He also posted about his mistrust of authorities, including comments critical of the Queensland Special Emergency Response Team (Sert), which arrived at the property and ultimately killed him.
“If you are a conservative, anti-vax [sic], freedom lover, protester, common law, conspiracy talker, alternative news, independent critical thinker, truther, Christian, patriot etc expect a visit from these hammers,” Mr Train wrote on a forum.
The state's Police Commissioner Katarina Caroll broke down in tears as she recounted the bravery of her colleagues who lived: "To think that they survived, let alone then got out to make phone calls and call for assistance was just extraordinary.
"The people that I have spoken to cannot believe how she [Keely] survived and what she did during that period of time."
In another statement, Mr Leavers said: “We are all in a state of shock and disbelief. To be here tonight and know that two brave police, both under the age of 30, have needlessly lost their lives affects all our emotions."
A further 16 officers were deployed to firefight the scene, all of whom "were continually under fire".
From the time Ms Brough and her three colleagues first went to the property to when the following 16 left, six hours had passed.
