Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
Today marked the final day of hearings into the 2022 Wieambilla massacre, with the Queensland coroner, Terry Ryan, hearing emotional statements on behalf of the families of the victims. Ryan is scheduled to hand down his findings at a later date.
Judy McCrow, the mother of slain police constable Rachel McCrow, has told the hearings that her daughter’s last message to them was “I love you, I love you, I love you”, shortly before she was shot dead.
Many of those to give statements called for immediate reform to prevent a similar incident happening again. The mother of Const Matthew Arnold, 26, the first killed in the shooting, said the 16-day inquest “has revealed the critical operational failings that could have prevented this tragedy”.
Officers McCrow and Arnold and civilian Alan Dare were murdered by three conspiracy theorists on the afternoon of 12 December 2022 in an ambush.
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Main image: Const Rachel McCrow, Const Matthew Arnold and civilian Alan Dare, who were shot and killed by Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train in Wieambilla. Composite: Queensland coroner's court
