The daughter and niece of the Queensland shooters who shot dead two police officers and a neighbour has broken her silence on what led to one of the country’s darkest days.
Madelyn Train believes her parents and uncle were driven by “fear” when they launched their attack on December 12 at their rural property in Wieambilla, about three and a half hours west of Brisbane.
“I’d say they were influenced by fear of the unknown, of whatever was happening and then no one understanding,” the 26-year-old told Nine News, describing her family as “the gentlest people I know.”
She denies the trio were on drugs that day but says her uncle Gary Train, who became her stepdad when her parents divorced, believed in conspiracy theories and “the apocalypse”. She added that he became even more paranoid during the pandemic, convinced that the government was spying on them.
Madelyn revealed that during the brutal siege he texted her saying that “Vanessa [his brother’s wife] sent people to kill us.”
Mother ‘didn’t like guns’
Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were killed when Gary Train, Nathaniel Train and his wife Stacey Train opened fire on four officers who’d arrived at the Wains Road home for a routine missing persons check for Nathaniel.
A neighbour who heard the shots and rushed forward to help, Alan Dare, was also shot dead during the massacre.
While Constables Randall Kirk and Keely Brough managed to escape, specialist police teams were sent into the fortified property to take out the trio during an hour’s long siege.
Madelyn’s been told by police that her armed mother was shot while trying to get out the back, but says her mum didn’t like guns.
The 26-year-old, who says she grew up in a “really happy, healthy family environment” and saw no signs that her family was capable of cold blooded murder, now has to live with her family’s horror.
“I mourn six people so I mourn my family, I mourn the police officers and I mourn the neighbour,” Madelyn said. “And I developed acute traumatic stress from it because grieving three of your family members is hard enough but then finding out what they did and then seeing everyone’s reaction to what they did.”
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