Australia records first terror attack linked to extreme Christian beliefs

The attack that left six people dead in December 2022 during a shooting ambush in a small town in Australia has been called a religiously-motivated terrorist attack.

Authorities say this is the first time that a terror attack in Australia has been linked to extreme Christian beliefs.

Nathaniel, Stacey, and Gareth Train opened fire on a rural property in Queensland last December. Two police officers and a neighbour were killed.

After a long standoff with police, the three people were shot and killed.

Police were looking into whether the group, which included Nathaniel and Gareth, who were brothers, and Stacey, who had been married to each man at different times, had anything to do with conspiracy theories.

On December 12, police went to a remote property 270 kilometres (168 miles) west of Brisbane to look for Nathaniel Train, who had been reported missing in New South Wales.

Four police officers were shot at when they got out of their cars and got close to Gareth and Stacey’s house.

Two constables, Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were shot right away. According to reports, they were then shot again, as if they were being put to death. Another officer was hurt but got away, and the shooters scared the fourth one by setting fires to try to scare her away.

Alan Dare, 58, a neighbour who went to the house to help, was also shot and killed.

Thursday, Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Tracey Lindford said that their investigation showed that the Trains “acted as an independent cell” and “carried out a terrorist attack that was religiously motivated.”

They believed in a form of Christian fundamentalism called “pre-millennialism” and had tried to hurt police.

“They did call police monsters and demons, which means they were evil.”

“Christian extremist ideas have been linked to other attacks around the world, but this is the first time we’ve seen them in Australia,” Ms. Lindford said.

She said that the attack had been planned ahead of time and that investigators had found “significant evidence” of this.

Gareth and Stacey were the ones who owned the property, which was set up with hideouts, barriers, dirt mounts, guns, knives, CCTV, and mirrors on trees.

Ms. Linford said there is “no evidence” that anyone else in Australia took part in or helped with the attack. However, the Trains have been linked to people in the U.S. Police have told investigators there what they know.