SYDNEY: Six people were killed, including two police officers in their twenties, when a routine missing-persons investigation dragged on for hours. The siege at a remote Australian property, police said Tuesday.
Four officers arrived at the tree-lined property near the small town of Wyambella late Monday afternoon.
“As soon as they entered the property, they were submerged in water. A gunshot“They never stood a chance,” Queensland Police Union president Ian Levers said.
“Two police officers were hanged in cold blood,” he said.
The dead have been identified as 26-year-old Rachel McCrore and 29-year-old Matthew Arnold. Both had joined the force in the past two years and were still constables.
“These officers made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our community safe,” Queensland Police Commander Katrina Carroll said, holding back tears as she told the public of the “extraordinarily disturbing” events.
A 58-year-old neighbor heard the commotion and investigated the scene and was also shot and “pronounced dead at the scene,” according to police.
A ‘heartbreaking’ day
Two other officers survived the attack and were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
One of the survivors was Constable Kelly Burrow, who sent terrifying messages to her loved ones as the suspects tried to drag her out of the nearby bushes where she was hiding.
He has only been a police officer for eight weeks, officials said.
Aerial images from the scene show an unassuming bungalow with a zinc roof, a burnt-out vehicle and smoke still billowing around the property.
After the initial flurry of gunfire, a specialist team of more than a dozen officers rushed to the scene with air support.
By 10:30pm local time, after an hour-long siege, two male suspects and one female suspect were killed.
Police have not identified the suspects, but officers are believed to be searching for a former primary school principal who went missing late last year.
Local media reported that the property was registered in the name of the missing man’s brother and sister-in-law.
Bhai is believed to have been a regular poster of conspiracy theory websites, railing against “secret societies” and shadowy intelligence agencies conducting “false) flag operations.”
The incident is under investigation and police are handling the situation.
Mass shootings are rare in Australia, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
The ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons dates back to a 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in which a lone gunman killed 35 people.
Prime Minister Anthony Albany described the scenes in Wyambela as “appalling”.
He said it was a heartbreaking day for the families and friends of Queensland police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Queensland authorities have ordered flags on government buildings to be flown at half-mast.