Cop killer Nathaniel Train was caught with guns just months before he executed two officers and a neighbour alongside his brother and ex-wife, a report has claimed.
Former school principal Nathaniel Train was suspected of dumping guns in floodwaters before travelling illegally across the Queensland border with other weapons in December 2021, the ABC reported.
But despite this, constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold – and two other officers who were with them – were seemingly unaware of any danger when they called at the Trains’ remote property in Wieambilla, Queensland, and came under fire last week.
Nathaniel Train. Picture: BRENDAN RADKE.
According to the new report, Goondiwindi police took a statement on April 29 this year that identified Nathaniel Train as the man seen dumping weapons in floodwaters four months earlier.
A resident who offered him a lift through the floods on December 17, 2021, said Nathaniel Train identified himself by name and said he was principal of Walgett State School.
The person told police that Nathaniel Train was carrying guns and that he had borrowed his phone to make a call, during which he used morse code to speak.
Nathaniel Train had earlier ditched his damaged Toyota LandCruiser on a farmer’s land, near where the guns were found.
The vehicle was finally impounded by police his week, the ABC reported.
The cop killer went on to cross the Queensland border just days before it opened to vaccinated travellers.
He is reported to have told a farmer near the border that he was an “anti-vaxxer” who wanted to cross into Queensland to see family.
Nathaniel Train’s Black LandCruiser.
Nathaniel Train, his brother Gareth and Stacey Train – who was married to Gareth but was also Nathaniel’s ex-wife – were killed last Monday by tactical police officers.
They had earlier killed constables McCrow, 29, and Arnold, 26, as well as neighbour Alan Dare.
Police had arrived at the Queensland property on Monday afternoon amid concerns for Nathaniel Train’s welfare.
He was last seen in Dubbo in NSW on December 16, 2021, however, he had remained in contact with his family until Sunday October 9, 2022.
Nathaniel Train pictured with Stacey Train, who later married his brother Gareth. Picture: A Current Affair
Nathaniel Train was a former school principal who officially left the NSW department of education’s employment in March this year, although he hadn’t worked at a school in the state since August 2021.
Before that time, he worked as a principal at a string of schools, including Yorkeys Knob State School, Walgett Community College Primary School and Innisfail East State School.
Meanwhile, Stacey Jane Train was listed as the Head of Curriculum at nearby Tara Shire State College as recently as 2019, and was also the representative of the Western Downs branch of the Queensland teachers union.
The Train trio are believed to have been conspiracy theorists, with Gareth Train posting a series of odd rants online.
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