Australian authorities probe shooters’ social media posts

One of the brothers involved in a suspected ambush that killed two Australian police officers seemingly spent his time on internet conspiracy forums, where he spewed anti-vaccine sentiments and claimed other high-profile shootings were hoaxes.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said late Tuesday investigators are looking into a series of posts under the name of Gareth Train, one of the killers identified in the wake of Monday’s deadly shootout. One of the posts said Princess Diana was killed in a “blood sacrifice” while another referred to an “ark” and how he’s been “for the past five years preparing to survive tomorrow,” the Guardian reported.

“When it becomes clear that we are in a time like no other and you head out into the wilderness to escape persecution, know that my wife and I will offer refuge to all brothers and sisters,” it reads.

Another post also labeled the 1996 Port Arthur massacre – Australia’s deadliest mass shooting – a “false flag” operation created to “disarm the Australian population.”

Carroll said police are also investigating whether Train’s wife, Stacey, or his brother Nathan had any extremist ties.

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“It’s very difficult at the moment for us to reason with what has happened, there are no obvious reasons,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“Some of the stuff that’s online from these people, we will investigate what they have been doing not only in recent weeks but in recent years, who they’ve been interacting with.”

On Monday, four officers responded to rural property owned by Gareth Train at the request of authorities in neighboring New South Wales. They’d been searching for Nathaniel Train, a former school principal last seen at his Dubbo home on December 16, 2021. He was reported missing on Dec. 4.

When officers arrived at the property in Wieambilla, they were immediately met with gunfire. Two of the officers, 26-year-old Matthew Arnold and 29-year-old Rachel McCrow, were fatally struck while another suffered a bullet graze.

A fourth officer was not wounded and managed to call in for back-up.

After an hours-long siege, all three suspects were dead from fatal gunshot wounds. Alan Dare, a 58-year-old neighbor, was also killed in the shooting.

With News Wire Services