In a distressing radio transmission, police officers can be heard confronting armed men who killed two officers in rural Queensland.
The officers, who were identified as Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, were killed while they were carrying out a missing persons call at a property in Wieambilla.
The incident led to the deaths of McCrow and Alan Dare, who was also a neighbour. The suspects reportedly stood over McCrow and shot her at close range.
They then killed Arnold and McCrow. Tactical response units were deployed in response to the situation. The victims included the husband of one of the officers, Stacey Train, and the brothers, Nathaniel and Graeme Train.
The audio of the radio transmission has been released, and it shows the moments when the officers confronted the armed suspects.
One of the officers noted that they believed that one of the suspects was firing his weapon, while the other was trying to reload.
Around 4.40pm, a crew from the Chinchilla and Tara police stations arrived at the property. The two officers then met with a second car, which was driven by Constables Kirk and Brough.
According to a source close to the investigation, the incident was very rapid.
Arnold and McCrow then informed the residents about their presence by driving past the house and honking their horn.
When no one came out of the house, the four officers approached it. They then jumped over the fence. A barrage of bullets then began to fall on the officers.
Arnold and McCrow were hit by the bullets. NCA Newswire has learned that Kirk was also shot in the leg, but he was able to make it back to his police car after he didn’t jump the fence.
The suspects then fired into his vehicle, which left him with glass. He then called for help.
As the assailants shot at Kirk, Brough was able to escape on foot. He was only a few weeks into his career as a police officer.