Police pair among 6 killed in rural Australia gunfight

SYDNEY — Six people, including two police officers, were killed in a gunfight at a remote property in Australia's Queensland state, authorities said on Tuesday, after police visited a home there to investigate a missing-person report.

When four officers arrived about 4:30 pm on Monday at the property in Wieambilla, about 300 kilometers northwest of Queensland's capital Brisbane, two armed people opened fire and killed two of them, police said, without identifying the suspects.

Police said there was then a "siege" at the house, without elaborating. In a gunbattle at about 10:30 pm, specialist officers killed a 46-year-old man from Kewarra Beach, about 1,500 km northwest of the property; and a 47-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman, both from Wieambilla.

The slain police officers were constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow. The gunfire also killed a 58-year-old neighbor, police said, without providing the person's name. Two other officers were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Arnold and McCrow had gone to the home after a missing-person report was filed in New South Wales for a person thought to be at the property.

Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll said the shooting was the largest loss of life in a single incident the state police have suffered in recent times and a sad reminder of the unpredictable nature of policing.

National broadcaster ABC news reported that local residents were told to stay indoors until further notice and multiple ambulances were called to the scene.

Ian Leavers, general president of the Queensland Police Union, described the killings as a ruthless and coldblooded "execution".

"Police were responding to a call for a service for a missing person, it was simply that … as soon as they entered the property, they were inundated with gunfire and they never had a chance," he told ABC.

Conveying condolences

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese conveyed his condolences to the victims.

"Terrible scenes in Wieambilla and a heartbreaking day for the families and friends of the Queensland Police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty," he tweeted on Monday.

"My condolences to all who are grieving tonight — Australia mourns with you."

Australia implemented some of the world's toughest gun laws after a gunman killed 35 people at a cafe and tourist site at the former colonial prison of Port Arthur in the island state of Tasmania in April 1996.

Agencies - Xinhua