Police Officer’s Harrowing Escape During Wieambilla Shooting

In a chilling turn of events, body camera footage from a Queensland police officer has revealed the terrifying moments he fled for his life during a shocking shooting incident in Wieambilla.

Constable Randall Kirk was one of several officers responding to a missing person’s report on December 12, 2022, when the situation escalated into a deadly ambush. Tragically, within minutes of their arrival, his colleagues, Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, were shot dead by brothers Nathaniel and Gareth Train.

As panic erupted, Kirk recalled feeling there was no other choice but to run. He described the scene as chaotic, with heavy gunfire ringing out as he dashed across a field towards safety. The footage showed him sprinting towards a police vehicle, shouting for help and trying to stay out of sight.

Kirk’s desperate calls for help captured on his body camera revealed the gravity of the situation. He told his colleague, Sergeant Justin Drier, about the gunfire and the shock of witnessing his fellow officers being shot.

“He’s got a rifle, he’s coming over, f***!” Kirk exclaimed as the sound of shots echoed in the background. At one point, he worried that he himself had been hit, saying, “I’ve got blood on my face; I don’t know where I’ve been shot.”

Meanwhile, Constable Keely Brough, who managed to escape initially, found refuge in nearby bushland and remained on the line with a police communications officer for over two hours while the situation unfolded. She was terrified as she lay hidden, believing her life was in grave danger.

The inquest into this devastating incident is ongoing, with testimonies revealing critical flaws in how the initial police response was assessed. It turns out the missing person report related to the Trains did not raise any immediate concerns, which made the officers unsuspecting of the danger lurking on the remote property.

As the inquest continues, family members of the fallen officers are pushing for greater awareness about the risks police face daily. They believe it’s important for the public to understand the realities of police work, especially during such life-threatening situations.

After a lengthy standoff, special police units eventually ended the siege, killing the Trains, who had turned their firearms on law enforcement. This incident has been labeled as a “religiously motivated terrorist attack” due to the beliefs held by the Trains.