A civilian wasn’t warned of the shooting of two police officers at a Wieambilla property before he was also shot and killed because a triple zero operator was worried about getting in trouble for “snooping”, a coronial inquest into the Wieambilla massacre has heard.
Alan Dare, 58, ultimately became the third victim of a shooting massacre at 251 Wains Road on 12 December 2022 at the hands of conspiracy theorists Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train.
He was shot minutes after his wife, Kerry Dare, rang triple zero to report a fire at about 5.13pm. She also reported explosions and gunshots on the call and said her husband was heading over to check it out.
Kerry previously told the Queensland inquest she would have called her husband back to the house if she had been told about the shooting of two police officers when she rang the emergency line.
The police communications operator Kerry Dare spoke to, Emma Donald, appeared at day six of the coronial inquest into the Wieambilla massacre, led by state coroner Terry Ryan, on Monday. She was not initially scheduled to be called as a witness.
Donald told the inquest her computer displayed a warning that read “repeat” during the phone call, which indicated there was a second triple zero report coming from the same western Queensland property.
She clicked it and her screen displayed “police in trouble”.
The coroner’s court has previously heard that Const Keely Brough had called triple zero about 4.44pm. Her operator entered details reported by the young police officer into a file that was available statewide, including that police constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow had been shot.
But Donald told the inquest she did not inquire further into the incident report.
Widow of Wieambilla shooting victim Alan Dare calls triple zero at 5.13pm
“Once you’ve seen that police in trouble notification, do you have the option to click in to find out more details?” counsel assisting, Ruth O’Gorman, asked her on Monday.
“We do but at that time didn’t know if it was related or not [to the fire]. We’d been told in our training that if we look into a job that isn’t related, we’d most likely get in trouble for it because it’s technically snooping,” Donald said.
“I didn’t click into it.”
Widow of Wieambilla shooting victim Alan Dare calls triple zero at 5.17pm
Later in the conversation, after Alan Dare had left his home to go to the Trains’ property, Donald told Kerry Dare that “I’m going to absolutely advise against” doing so, but did not mention the report of “police in trouble”, the court heard previously.
Donald told the coroner on Monday that she did not find out until 5.28pm that the incident next to the Dares’ home involved “active offenders shooting at police”.
The inquest heard that Donald called Dare back at 5.30pm and was told “someone shot my husband”.
Donald estimated the second phone call with Dare lasted 30 minutes.
after newsletter promotion
Alan Dare was using his phone to film a burning police vehicle at the front gate of the Trains’ property when an unknown member of that family fatally shot him in the chest.
Timeline
Wieambilla shootings
Show
Nathaniel Train reported missing to NSW police. There is also a warrant out for his arrest on firearms charges. This is referred to Queensland police.
Gareth is informed by email about the missing person’s report and responds with a message including anti-police comments.
Job assigned to Chinchilla police, who seek assistance from Tara police. Four police travel to the property.
4.35pm
Constables Matthew Arnold, Rachel McCrow, Randall Kirk and Keely Brough arrive at 251 Wains Road, Wieambilla.
4.37pm
Nathaniel Train shoots Const Arnold dead from a prepared ambush position, known as a “hide”.
4.46pm
Const McCrow, who had been wounded by rifle fire, is shot dead at close range by Gareth Train. She pleads for her life.
5.30pm
Civilian Alan Dare killed by a gunshot to the torso from an unknown Train after going to the property to fight a fire. Wife Kelly is not told of the shooting incident during a 000 call.
5.30pm
Police issue public service preservation act warning for the Wieambilla area, banning civilian movement.
6.37pm
Const Brough rescued by uniformed police extraction team. They also remove bodies of McCrow and Arnold, but not Dare.
7.40pm
Police special emergency response team arrive and take over the police inner cordon.
10.39pm
Last of the Trains, Nathaniel, is killed by operators from the police special emergency response team. Massacre ends.
The inquest has previously heard Alan Dare was killed at about 5.30pm.
Gareth Train, his wife, Stacey Train, and Nathaniel Train were shot dead six hours later by specialist police after they refused to negotiate and opened fire on police helicopters and an armoured vehicle.
In response to cross-examination from Kerry Dare’s barrister, Donald said she had not received additional training since the Wieambilla shootings.
The inquest also heard evidence from Sen Sgt Tracy Louise Bailey, a Queensland police training coordinator, who reviewed the use of force during the incident.
She told the court that the four officers had little information to indicate it would justify bringing rifles or wearing body armour, or was anything more than a “routine” job.
Lawyer Gavin Handran questioned whether their risk assessment might have been different if they had been told the Trains had a “dislike for police”, had a history of unregistered firearms and delusions, and that one of them “was waiting for the police with an eye open”.
The inquest has previously heard Nathaniel Train had been told by email that he’d been reported missing and had responded on 10 and 11 December “including with negative comments about police”.
“If all of that information was available to those police, I believe that they would approach that job much differently,” Bailey said.
“The risk assessment would most likely be at a high risk.”
Bailey said they would most likely have asked for additional specially trained officers, from units like the public safety response team or the special emergency response team or taken rifles and other equipment.
The inquest continues.