One of the three religious extremist gunmen who killed two police officers and a neighbour was able to purchase ammunition without a valid gun licence.
Husband and wife Gareth and Stacey Train and his brother Nathaniel Train were killed by a specialist police team in Wieambilla, about 300km west of Brisbane, on December 12, 2022, after the deadly ambush.
The Trains had spent several months before the attack stockpiling ammunition and fortifying the property in doomsday-style preparation for the shooting.
However, police revealed on Friday that none of the Trains held a valid gun licence and shouldn’t have been able to buy or possess the ammunition or weapons used in the attack.
Police confirmed Nathaniel Train’s gun licence was suspended on August 22, 2022, and neither Gareth or Stacey had a gun licence.
Nathaniel Train (above) bought ammunition in Queensland using his suspended NSW firearms licence before acting as one of three gunmen in the Wieambilla shooting
Stacey, Gareth and Nathaniel Train were killed by a specialist police team at a property (above) in Wieambilla after they shot dead two police officers performing a missing persons search
Ammunition and weapons retailers in Queensland are required to check a buyer’s valid gun licence before they can sell the highly regulated goods.
A gun licence shows a photo of the licence holder and what class of weaponry they are permitted to own.
The Trains’ neighbour Alan Dare (above) was shot and killed when he went to check on the property during the shooting
Despite the strict laws around gun ownership, Nathaniel was still able to buy ammunition from around the Wieambilla area in the lead up to the shooting.
However, police said dealers sold ammunition legally to Nathaniel Train.
‘Retailers of weapons and ammunition are only required to physically sight the weapons licence of the purchaser,’ a police spokesperson said.
‘The ammunition was lawfully purchased in Queensland at retail outlets surrounding Wieambilla.’
Nathaniel was able to stay ‘physically in possession of his weapons licence’ by avoiding police as he was classified as a missing person for a year before the shooting.
His last sighting before the attack was recorded in Dubbo, central west NSW, on December 4, 2021.
The tragic shooting on December 12 unfolded when officers Randall Kirk, Keeley Brough, Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold attended the Wieambilla property following advice Nathaniel was there.
They entered the property at about 4.30pm but were cut down by a hail of bullets.
Officers Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were killed after attending the property on a missing persons lead (pictured a memorial left for the officers at nearby Tara Police Station)
On Thursday police revealed Stacey’s diary which detailed the groups extremist religious beliefs was found during a search of the property (pictured, SES volunteers searching the property following the shooting)
Arnold and McCrow were killed ‘execution’ style at point-blank range before Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth stole their police-issue Glock pistols.
Kirk was shot in the leg but managed to escape gunfire and seek medical help at nearby Chinchilla Hospital.
Brough ran and hid in nearby bushland and began texting her family, fully believing she was saying her final farewells.
Nathaniel, Stacey and Gareth then set fire to the grass she was in, hoping to smoke her out of hiding. She was later rescued by a specialist police tactical team of 16.
Curious neighbour Alan Dare was also fatally shot after coming to see what was causing the noise and flames.
Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said stakeholders are considering whether ammunition and weapons dealers should be required to check a pre-existing online system of Queensland licence statuses before selling goods.
‘The Queensland Police Service is always looking for ways to improve community safety and, as such, I have asked them to discuss with stakeholders whether legislative change is required to make it mandatory for dealers to use the Status Check system to determine a person’s eligibility at point of sale,’ he said.
Queensland Firearms Association president Jade Cleaver said he understood Nathaniel Train had a firearms licence in NSW which was suspended in December, 2021, after he illegally dumped weapons at the NSW/QLD border, while crossing state lines in breach of covid restrictions.
Rachel McCrow (left) and Matthew Arnold (right) were shot ‘execution style’ during the shooting on December 12, 2022
The news follows the reveal of details on the Trains’ extremist beliefs.
On Thursday, police revealed a diary kept by Stacey was recovered from the property and showed the shooters were motivated by extremist Christian beliefs and saw officers as ‘monsters or demons’.
The diary indicated the Trains believed in a Christian fundamentalist premillennialism theology, which states Jesus Christ is set to return but before that the world sinks into an abyss of evil.
However, police said it will be up to the coroner to give the final verdict on what motivated the attack.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
