The alleged gunman, who remains on the run with his family, is believed to be a member of the radical “sovereign citizen” movement.
In 2022, two police officers were killed by three members of the fringe group at a remote property outside the town of Wieambilla, Queensland.
Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train shot and killed police constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, as well as neighbour Alan Dare, on December 12 before being killed themselves by members of the Special Emergency Response Team.
The Trains had a history of febrile conspiracy theories, and Gareth was known as being obsessed with weaponry and had declared himself to be a “sovereign citizen”.
None of the three had a current firearms licence at the time of the shootings – Gareth and Stacey did not possess licences, and Nathaniel’s NSW licence had been suspended.
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However, Nathaniel was still able to purchase ammunition in Queensland, as Queensland authorities were unaware of the suspension of his licence in a different state.
In the wake of the shooting deaths, the federal government said it was going to investigate ways to prevent those with extreme views from becoming violent.
Then-home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said new policy responses, including legislation, would be needed to help prevent people with extremist views from turning to violence.
A national firearms register was established in the 2024 federal budget.
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