Six people, including two young police officers, have died in a shootout and siege at a remote property in the Australian state of Queensland, police said on Tuesday.
Four police officers arrived late Monday afternoon at a tree-lined property near the small town of Wieambilla (east).
“As soon as they entered the property they were riddled with gunfire…they didn’t stand a chance,” said Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers.
“Two police officers were executed in cold blood,” he added. Those killed have been identified as Rachel McCrow, 26, and Matthew Arnold, 29. Both had joined law enforcement within the past two years.
“These officers have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our community safe,” said Queensland Police Commander Katarina Carroll, fighting back tears.
A 58-year-old neighbor was also shot dead and “declared dead at the scene” by the police. An investigation was underway on Tuesday.
A “heartbreaking” day
Two other officers survived the shooting and were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Among them is a policewoman whom the suspects had tried to dislodge from the brush where she had been hiding, sending desperate messages to her relatives, local media reported.
Aerial footage of the scene shows an ordinary bungalow with a zinc roof, a burnt-out vehicle, and smoke still present around the property.
After the first shots, a special intervention team with more than ten members was dispatched to the scene, supported by air support.
Shortly after 10:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. GMT), after a siege lasting several hours, three suspects – two men and a woman – died. Their identity has not been disclosed by the police.
According to local media, law enforcement was investigating the 2021 disappearance of a former primary school principal.
The property was registered in the name of the missing man’s brother and sister-in-law, according to local media.
The missing man’s brother was, according to the local press, a regular contributor to conspiracy theory sites that denounced “secret societies” and the alleged conduct of “false flag operations” by secret intelligence agents.
Shootings are rare in Australia, a country with one of the strictest gun laws in the world.
A ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons has been in place since a 1996 shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, when a lone gunman killed 35 people.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the events in Wieambilla “horrible”, speaking of a “heartbreaking day for the families and friends of Queensland Police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty”.
Queensland state officials have ordered flags flying at government buildings to be lowered to half mast.