A new inquest will investigate whether the Queensland Police Force should have responded to differently to reports of gunfire in the vicinity of the train property in Western Queensland in the lead-up up the slaying of two police officers and their neighbour. 

Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, and Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, were shot dead by Gareth and Stacey Train along with Nathaniel Train when arrived at the Trains’ property in the Western Downs on December 12, 2022. 

Nathaniel Train had previously been principal at Walgett High School. 

Police have said Nathaniel Train, along with his co-offenders, believed in premillennialism and thought that Christ would arrive after a period of mass destruction. 

The trio had constructed sniper nests and stashed ammunition around their property. 

Police later learned that Nathaniel Train broke through a NSW-QLD border gate during Covid-19 restrictions and placed loaded guns in flooded waters almost a year before the killings. 

Ruth O'Gorman. Image: supplied. 

Nathaniel Train was a missing person and Police had attempted to find him several times at the Wieambilla property. 

The inquest set to begin on July 29 will investigate whether anything was known to authorities indicating a risk that the Trains would do what they did, Counsel assisting the coroner Ruth O’Gorman KC told a hearing in Brisbane on May 21. 

The brief of evidence to be examined includes footage of the deaths of the two police officers recorded by their own body worn cameras. 

The inquest will also examine how Nathaniel Train illegally entered Queensland via Talwood in December, 2021 and the quality of the subsequent police investigation. 

The inquest would also examine the missing persons report in relation to Nathaniel Train by the NSW Police Force in November and December 2022. 

Information communicated by the NSW Police Force to the Queensland Police Service in the lead up to the shooting will also be considered as well the decisions made by local police stations to send the four officers on the day of the shooting. 

Barrister Lachlan Gyles will represent NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb at the inquest.