Telling a senior officer about nationwide reports before a deadly ambush of uniformed colleagues would have warned him to a family of killers “fixated” on police, according to the coroner.
On the late afternoon of December 12, 2022, two brothers named Train—Nathaniel, 46, and Gareth, 47—opened fire on four junior constables who were approaching a remote property from the west of Brisbane.
The incident occurred at Wieambilla.
The most recent police records were withheld from State Coroner Terry Ryan, who had previously learnt that Detective Senior Constable Tim Montgomery of the New South Wales Police had called Chinchilla officers near Wieambilla, requesting permission to attend the house for a missing persons “welfare check” on Nathaniel Train.
According to some sources, Gareth Train sent an email to his brother cops in which he threatened to “greet them as they deserve” and expressed his desire to “see you dead” if the officers showed up at his secluded bush property.
The Train brothers—Nathaniel, Stacey, and Gareth—refused to surrender, so the police shot and killed them.
Today, in the Brisbane Coroners Court, Detective Chief Inspector Garry Watts of Queensland stated that, had he seen the emails, he would have prevented officers from going to the Wieambilla farm.
While the Wieambilla area was part of the police southwest district, Detective Inspector Watts oversaw operations there.
“The last two emails, if brought to my attention, would have required further investigation before attending,” according to him.
Based on what the detective claimed, the emails would have been sent to the Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre in Brisbane to get their take on what was in them.
Even Watts acknowledged that the center’s clientele “includes people fixated on police” and other prominent public personalities and politicians.
Nathaniel Train was wanted for crimes committed in Queensland and was listed as missing in New South Wales approximately three weeks before to the shootings.
While Randall Kirk drew back from gunfire and Keely Brough hid for over two hours, the Train brothers ambushed and murdered 26-year-old police Matthew Arnold and 29-year-old officer Rachel McCrow.
Even though Gareth Train claimed in the emails that individuals he knew were conspiring with police to assassinate his brother, Watts expressed his belief that the emails did not pose a threat to the police.
“Special Emergency Response Team would not have been engaged just on that information alone,” added Watts.
After the trains killed three people, the location was guarded by the specialist Queensland team, which can send cops in armoured vehicles armed to the teeth.
According to what Ryan has heard, the Trains would not have been listed as a terrorist threat in police records had they been subjected to a more thorough background investigation prior to the shootings.
If given access to the complete NSW police report, Watts would have conferred with his detectives, as there was “no rush” on Nathaniel Train’s missing persons investigation.
After reviewing Gareth Train’s communications, Senior Constable Stephanie Abbott of Queensland stated that she would not have ordered subordinate cops to visit the Wieambilla home.
Abbott stated that she had checked the Trains’ credentials and emailed the officers all pertinent information she had, including the fact that Nathaniel Train possessed a licence for two firearms.
“I said ‘if it gets too dark, don’t go down there in the dark’,” he added.
After fatally shooting two constables, Nathaniel Train quickly joined Gareth and his sibling’s wife Stacey, 45, to murder Alan Dare, 58, a neighbour.
Several hours subsequent to their refusal to negotiate or surrender, the three Trains were fatally shot by specialised officers.
