A coroner has ruled that the 2022 Wieambilla shootings, which left six dead including two police officers, were not an act of terrorism but the result of a shared psychotic disorder. Queensland state coroner Terry Ryan accepted evidence that the three members of the Train family were gripped by a 'folie à trois' – a shared delusional belief that they were fighting a battle between heaven and hell.
On 12 December 2022, four police constables attended the remote property at 251 Wains Road to search for missing person Nathaniel Train and execute an arrest warrant. The Trains – Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel – had spent a year preparing ambush positions. They opened fire with high-powered rifles, killing constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold. Neighbour Alan Dare was also shot dead when he went to investigate a fire set by the Trains to flush out a hiding officer.
Coroner Ryan found that the officers' handguns were 'woefully inadequate' against the rifles used. The Trains were later shot dead by a police tactical response team, which Ryan deemed 'appropriate, proportional and lawful'. He concluded that the Trains believed they were serving God's will and that police were demons in 'meat suits', making their actions defensive in their own minds, not meeting the legal definition of terrorism.
This contradicts the Queensland Police Service's earlier classification of the attack as 'religiously motivated terrorism'. Forensic psychiatrist Dr Andrew Aboud told the inquest the Trains were 'morally insane' and did not know their actions were wrong. The inquest heard evidence from 150 witnesses and reviewed extensive video and forensic material.
The case highlights concerns about online radicalisation and distrust in government, with expert Associate Professor Josh Roose noting that 'people spend enormous amounts of time online' and that an older cohort of men may be increasingly likely to carry out violent acts.
