Two police officers were killed in a suspected ambush in rural Australia. The suspects appear to have posted a video during the attacks where they confessed to the killings.
Although the Queensland Police claimed to be aware of the footage, they could not confirm whether Gareth and Stacey Train were on it.
Police shot the couple and Gareth’s brother Nathaniel before killing them together with two other policeman and a neighbor.
Police are investigating the group’s potential ties to conspiracies.
The suspects allegedly used “several weapons,” according to officials, but neither they nor the attack’s motivation have been made public.
However, on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese referred to it as a “vicious and fatal ambush.” Ian Leavers, the leader of the Queensland Police union, asserted that the residence was equipped with a high-tech surveillance system and a cache of weapons and ammunition.
In videos posted to a YouTube account, a pair that resembles Gareth and Stacey criticize the police. The videos were first reported on by the local media outlet Crikey on Friday morning.
They go by the names Daniel and Jane on the account, which has since been deleted. They are Gareth and Stacey’s middle names, according to Crikey and other local media.
Using internet records, the BBC has confirmed the existence of the YouTube account, but not its owners’ identities.
The most recent video purports to show Stacey, 45, and Gareth, 47, confessing to the killings while they are cloaked in darkness. The man talks of “demons” and “devils.”
Three hours after four police officers arrived at a residence in Wieambilla, which is located 270 kilometers (168 miles) west of Brisbane, and were shot at, the video was released at 19:39 on Monday.
Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, two police officers, as well as 58-year-old Alan Dare, a neighbor who arrived to the house worried it was on fire, were all killed.
The three suspects were shot and killed by specialized police after a six-hour standoff.
Nathaniel Train, who is missing, is Nathaniel’s brother, Gareth’s brother, and Stacey’s ex-husband. He isn’t shown in the video.
Queensland Police issued a statement claiming that while the “complex and detailed” investigation is ongoing, it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the footage.
Katarina Carroll, the commissioner of Queensland Police, has already stated that the inquiry will focus on the suspects’ online behavior.
We are definitely looking into every possibility, she added, whether it was planned or sprang from some of the material these people have posted online.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil stated that the shooting was most likely influenced by radicalization on Thursday.
“Radicalism is nothing new. Conspiracy theories, false information, and misinformation, however, are age-old issues that technology is accelerating into awful acts of violence, “She informed the House.
