Australian inquiry will hear evidence that Christian extremists killed 3 in an act of terrorism
An expert will tell an inquiry that three Christian extremists killed two police officers and a bystander and wounded a third police officer in an ambush on a rural Australian property in 2022 in an act of terrorism
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An inquiry will hear evidence that three Christian extremists who killed two police officers and a bystander and wounded a third police officer in an ambush on a rural Australian property in 2022 committed an act of terrorism aimed at intimidating state authorities, a coroner was told on Monday.
Queensland State Coroner Terry Ryan began hearing the inquiry into a siege in the sparsely populated Wieambilla region west of the state capital, Brisbane, on Dec. 12, 2022.
Brothers Gareth and Nathaniel Train and Gareth’s wife Stacey Train were killed by police hours after they fired on four police officers who attended their fortified Wieambilla property to check on Nathaniel’s welfare. Stacey had been married to Nathaniel and had two children with him before marrying his older brother.
The lawyer presenting the evidence, Ruth O’Gorman, said in her opening statement that Deakin University political sociologist Josh Roose would give evidence to the hearing that the ambush was terrorism.
