Queensland’s police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, has said two officers killed in a shooting in Wieambilla on Monday night “did not stand a chance” and it was a miracle that two others managed to survive the ambush.
Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, arrived at the property seeking information about missing man Nathaniel Train when confronted by a “hail of gunshots”, with another officer suffering a bullet graze and a fourth surviving by hiding in long grass. A neighbour was also gunned down.
A special response team of 16 officers then shot dead three people following a siege.
Speaking from Chinchilla on Tuesday morning, Carroll described the deaths of two officers as “devastating”.
She said she had been to the property that morning to look at the “confronting” scene and been briefed on the start of the investigation.
“I’ve got to say, from what I have seen, they didn’t stand a chance,” she said. “The fact that two got out alive is a miracle.”
When asked what she saw at the scene, Carroll said the officers had been shot at in an open area.
“Look, I won’t go into too much of that, other than to say that when you are in that scene, walking towards the house and where this apparently took place, they were in an exposed area,” she said.
“I would go back to say that I cannot believe that two officers got out alive,” she said.
The assailants then lit a grass fire to locate the officer who had hidden. When a 58-year-old man, a neighbour from another property, arrived to check what was happening, he was also shot and killed.
“From what I understand, the neighbour was going to see what was occurring and I’m not sure if it was because of the fire or hearing weapons being shot,” Carroll said. “But that neighbour, like my officers, didn’t stand a chance either.”
A siege situation ensued, with 16 specialist police officers and PolAir responding to the incident. Three attackers were killed in the firefight, and all three are currently considered offenders.
The deceased police officers were new to the force, and both were stationed in the close-knit community of Tara, Carroll said.
“Matthew was sworn in as a police officer in March 2020, while Rachel was sworn in last year in June 2021,” she said. Both officers started their careers in Dalby before transferring to Tara.
“Losing one of our own has a profound impact on every single officer and their families. To lose two officers in one incident is absolutely devastating,” Carroll said.
“This event is the largest loss of police life we have suffered in a single incident in many years.”
Carroll said she would be visiting their families soon and that the investigations of the scene could take weeks.
On Tuesday morning Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced state flags would be lowered to half-mast, and some buildings, including Brisbane’s Story Bridge, would be lit up in blue and white to commemorate the dead officers.
The president of the Queensland Police Union, Ian Leavers, said a fundraiser had been set up for their families.
“They were both amazing people who were well respected by their colleagues and those who were close to them,” Leavers said.
“I spoke with Matthew’s father last night. It’s hard to know what to say. He was devastated.
“Our thoughts go out to Matthew’s parents and Rachel’s family as well.”
Their names will be added to the police remembrance wall in the botanical gardens in Brisbane and in Canberra, he said.
