News Desk
SYDNEY: Six people, including two police officers, were killed in a shootout after a suspected ambush at a remote property in the state of Queensland in Australia.
Police said the ambush occurred when a search operation was underway for a missing person in the small town of Wieambilla – 270km west of Brisbane, Queensland. The deceased police officers were identified as two constables: 26-year-old Rachel McCrow and 29-year-old Matthew Arnold. Both were in the early years of their police career.
Four Queensland police officers had initially entered the property after a request from New South Wales police. Authorities said police shot dead three suspects after a lengthy siege, adding that the attack’s motive remains unclear.
‘A heartbreaking day’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it a “heartbreaking day” for the country. Meanwhile, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll described the incident as an “unimaginable tragedy”.
Investigations are underway into the incident and the handling of the situation by the police.
Australia’s tough gun laws
Mass shootings are quite uncommon in Australia, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the world. Automatic and semi-automatic weapons have been banned in the country since a 1996 mass shooting incident at Port Arthur, Tasmania in which a single assailant killed 35 people.
