Cop killer Nathaniel Train was a beloved elementary school principal until he suffered a huge heart attack while fighting for action in response to a cheating issue at his school. His mental health subsequently deteriorated.
Train, his brother Gareth, and sister-in-law Stacey – also a former primary school principal – assassinated police constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, as well as his neighbor Alan Dare, 58, on Monday in an ambush on a rural home in Wieambilla, three hours west of Brisbane.
A third officer, Randall Kirk, 28, was shot in the leg but managed to escape, while a fourth officer, Keely Brough, 28, also managed to run as her heavily-armed assailants set fire to the surrounding jungle in an attempt to track her down.
Officers from the Queensland Police Special Emergency Response Team shot and killed all three murderers.
Tuesday, the father of the brothers, a retired pastor of 27 years named Ronald Train, said, “I have lost two children.”
Cop killer Nathaniel Train was previously a beloved principal, but his mental health deteriorated after suffering a heart attack during a cheating dispute at his school.
Tuesday evening, retired pastor Ronald Train (right), the father of Nathaniel and Gareth, broke his silence.
Mr. Train told The Chinchilla News outside his Toowoomba house, “I am not going to share anything with you, so you can conjecture and make up whatever you want.”
I have already spoken with law enforcement.
Since then, it has come to light that Gareth Train has connections to various conspiracy websites where he shared his radical and odd beliefs.
Until a heart attack and a cheating scandal destroyed his life, his brother was a well-respected educator who was a leader in his industry, with a track record of turning schools around and increasing NAPLAN scores.
Nathaniel Train quit his work and vanished, abandoning his wife; he had not been seen in months prior to Monday’s brutal attack.
Train was a former principal of Innisfail East and Yorkeys Knob State Schools in far north Queensland, where he received acclaim for his influence and results.
Monday at approximately 4.30 p.m., four officers attended a residence on Wains Road in Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, in response to a request from their colleagues in New South Wales to check on missing man Nathaniel Train. Two officers were fatally shot.
Nathaniel Train (shown) was a former principal at Innisfail East and Yorkeys Knob State Schools in far north Queensland, where he received acclaim for his influence and results.
One former colleague told Tuesday’s Daily Mail Australia, “He made Yorkeys the highest-performing NAPLAN school in far north Queensland.”
In 2020, Train, 46, became the executive principal of Walgett Community College Primary School in New South Wales.
But after a few months, he found himself in a dispute over an incident of cheating on a NAPLAN exam at the school.
One student, who shared a surname with a teaching assistant, was said to have answered the first two questions incorrectly, but then answered the remaining 34 questions correctly.
Train apparently reported the assault at his own school, but turned to One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham after he said he had been ignored by the NSW Education Department.
Train, his brother Gareth, and his sister-in-law Stacey, who was also a former primary school principal, ambushed two police officers and an unsuspecting neighbour on a remote farm in Wieambilla, central Queensland, and killed all three (pictured, a police officer at the scene of the ambush)
In 2020, Nathaniel Train, 46, entered Walgett Community College Primary School in New South Wales (pictured) as executive principle, but within months, he was embroiled in a cheating scandal.
In August, he ceased working at the school after suffering a huge heart attack and had to be revived by his professors.
According to Mr. Latham, Train continued to pursue the cheating dispute with education officials via a series of increasingly frustrated emails.
Train sent 16 emails to Georgina Harrison, secretary of the education department, in March, pleading with her to address the issue.
Mr. Latham told Daily Mail Australia: “He was quite dismayed and handed me the documents I requested during budget estimates.”
It is not uncommon for a retiring principal to request that the department secretary do something about the worst school in the state, as evidenced by the sixteen emails sent within two weeks.
“He received no reaction from that department.
These emails were sent out of anger.
He stated that it was swept under the rug.
“He was unable to attend due to health issues, and he wanted the department secretary to take a special interest in a school that has recently experienced chronic challenges and failure.”
Mark Latham of One Nation raised the cheating controversy in the NSW Parliament’s budget estimates, although he stated that there was no evidence that Train was capable of Monday’s attack.
Four days ago, NSW Police issued a missing persons notice for him and asked Queensland Police to conduct a regular check at his brother’s remote home (pictured)
Mr. Latham insisteds he has seen nothing to indicate that Train is capable of carrying out Monday’s fatal attack.
“He was persuasive,” he claimed. He knew what he was talking about, and his claims were substantiated by evidence.
He wasn’t belligerent with me, but he was really dissatisfied with the education department.
Train ceased operation in Walgett in August 2021, following his heart attack, and was last seen in Dubbo on December 16, 2021.
In March 2022, he officially quit his employment at Walgett and afterwards left his wife. The last time he spoke to her was on October 9, according to investigators.
Four days ago, NSW Police issued a missing persons notice for him and asked Queensland Police to conduct a regular check at his brother’s remote home.
Officers Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, were shot and murdered at the scene, along with 58-year-old innocent bystander Alan Dare.
Officers were ambushed by Train, his brother Gareth, and sister-in-law Stacey on a rural home in Wieambilla, central Queensland
Constable Randall Kirk was shot in the leg, but Constable Keely Brough escaped before the shooters ignited a fire to smoke her out.
Mr. Latham stated that he had only spoken with Mr. Train by phone and email, and that he had lost communication with him in July.
He continued, “I figured he gave up because he was sick and tired of banging his head against the wall.”
‘In conversations with him, he was passionate and devoted, yet focused.
‘However, I also believe it’s true that his experiences at school left him damaged and disheartened.
He was taking a break to replenish his batteries on the mental health and physical health fronts following his heart attack.
The member of the New South Wales Legislative Council expressed shock and surprise at the tragedy in Queensland.
He stated, “I hadn’t heard his name in six months.”
‘I did worry at the time why he was not responding to me.
Given the attitudes of the education department, I presumed he believed he had done enough and that his efforts were fruitless.
Mark Latham stated that he had only spoken with Nathaniel Train (pictured) by phone and email, and that he had lost communication with him in July.
He said, “Of course, no connection has been found between it and the Queensland catastrophe.” I am deeply saddened to learn about his demise.
‘Obviously, it’s unfortunate for the police officers. That is so tragic and dreadful.
A spokesperson for the education department declined to comment on the emails about the cheating scandal.
The department stated in a statement that one of the deceased was a former employee of NSW Education who had not worked in a NSW school since August 2021.
He departed our employ officially in March of this year.
Additional counseling will be made available at the affected school today and for as long as faculty and students require assistance.
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