The FBI has arrested a man in the U.S. in relation to a Queensland shooting that killed three people, including two police officers.
Police were ambushed with bullets after being called to a rural property in the state’s Western Downs in December last year.
A stand-off resulted in the deaths of the three shooters. Police later confirmed it was a Christian extremist terror attack.
Here’s what we know so far.
Queensland shooting
On 12 December 2022, Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were shot dead after arriving at a property in Wieambilla, both of whom were in their twenties. Two other officers, one of whom was shot in the leg, escaped.
58-year-old Alan Dare was also shot and killed when he visited the scene to check on his neighbours.
The shooters – married couple Gareth and Stacey Train, and Gareth’s brother Nathaniel Train – were killed after an hours-long standoff.
Queensland police described the shooting as a “religiously motivated terrorist attack”.
U.S. arrest
This week, FBI officers arrested a 58-year-old man in the U.S. state of Arizona in relation to the Wieambilla incident.
The investigation centres on online interactions in the years before the attack between the man and two of the shooters, Gareth and Stacey Train.
Police allege the man spoke with the Trains via comments on YouTube videos. The interactions revolved around an “end of days” extreme Christian ideology.
What next?
Australian counter-terrorism officers will remain in the U.S. to continue their investigations with local authorities.
QLD police said they will make a formal request to look at “evidential material” the FBI seized from the man’s property.
The man is currently in custody in Arizona.
