‘To the female in the building, place your hands up’: Audio of final shouts to shooters plays in court

The man in charge of the tactical police response to the fatal Wieambilla siege has described how he feared the three shooters could escape into the community and potentially flee south over the border into NSW.

With two young police constables gunned down, and two other offers barely escaping with their lives, it was the team’s “most dangerous” mission, Superintendent Tim Partridge told a coronial inquest into the December 12, 2022, shooting.

In audio played to the inquest, police could be heard shouting at the shooters, Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train, repeatedly to put down their firearms.

“To the female in the building, place your hands up,” one could be heard yelling. Another yells: “watch her in the windows, watch her in the windows,” in reference to Stacey.

“Listen to these instructions and you will be OK. We cannot guarantee your safety if you do not listen. Place your weapons down, and hands up,” a negotiator shouts.

“Mate, it doesn’t have to be this way, we don’t want to hurt you. Weapons down and your hands up, that’s all it has to be.”

The inquest, into its second week, has so far heard harrowing details of how police were killed before a neighbour was also fatally shot when he came to investigate the fires on the rural south-east Queensland property.

Partridge, the commander of the Special Emergency Response Team at the time, was responsible for co-ordinating the tactical response.

He said his initial briefings said there was an association to NSW, and it elevated concerns the Trains could flee the state.

“Who shoots police and just sits there and waits?” he said.

The Trains had gunned down constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold that afternoon, their two colleagues, constables Randall Kirk and Keely Brough, escaping under heavy gunfire and the fires the shooters lit surrounding their property.

The officers had attended the property to investigate a missing persons report from NSW regarding Nathaniel Train.

Partridge told the inquest on Wednesday that when he confirmed reports of a shooting on the Western Downs, he began making calls to get SERT operatives into position.

This included sending the police armoured vehicle BearCat onto the road immediately, given its slow speed. Several operatives, including team leaders and snipers, were sent in an aircraft to get to Wieambilla quicker ahead of Partridge.

Partridge drove to the scene with two intel officers, and was receiving briefings from other teams, who informed him two officers had been shot, and one was missing, while another had escaped.

He said there had been a high likelihood a member of the team would be killed.

“There was a very good chance someone would be shot and killed and yet not one of them hesitated.”

He said he did not know Arnold and McCrow were dead until about 7pm.

Partridge said he arrived just before 9pm, and remained concerned the Trains could escape the police cordon.

Partridge said the fact a civilian had also been killed had increased his concern, and it was a relief to see the Trains at the scene, as police knew where they were.

Partridge said he continued to urge SERT teams to move in toward the Train home. He said he was unable to communicate with officers in the BearCat via radio, but he managed to call on their mobiles.

He said he told them he understood it was probable he was pushing them into tactically compromised positions, and there would likely be gunfire.

But he said he remained concerned the BearCat vehicle and other teams were not able to stop the Trains quickly if they escaped in their car.

The Trains did not respond to negotiation attempts by police, and were killed by SERT after 10.30pm.

At the inquest, Partridge detailed a range of changes that could be made to SERT, including putting marksmen in aircraft above the scene, a capability available to other states. He said SERT were working to fix communication issues.

SERT were also challenged on the night as they did not have thermal imaging equipment, he said.

The inquest continues.