Thousands of people are expected to gather on one of the toughest days for Queensland police as constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow are farewelled in Brisbane.
A memorial service with full police honours will be held for the two early-career officers on Wednesday after they were gunned down at a rural property at Wieambilla on December 12.
Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said the state’s constabulary is grateful for the public show of support following the tragedy.
“I don’t think there is a single police station that hasn’t had a truckload of flowers delivered to it,” he said on Tuesday.
“It’s been a tough week but they’ve very much appreciated the show of support and obviously tomorrow we’re expecting a very big crowd.”
There are 8000 public tickets for the service, which will commence at 10am local time at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and be attended by Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.
It is anticipated thousands of officers will stand one-abreast to salute as they are passed by a procession of attendees, while a guard of honour will include the police band, mounted unit and dog squad along with police vehicles and motorcycles
The ceremony will be broadcast live with a number of public screenings around Queensland, including in the communities of Tara, Dalby, Chinchilla and Miles that surround the site of the December 12 tragedy at Wieambilla, three hours west of Brisbane.
Ms Palaszczuk is encouraging Queenslanders to buy a ribbon from local police stations for a small donation as a show of support.
Ms Carroll said she believes the two officers, both under 30, didn’t stand a chance when they came under fire alongside two other officers at the rural property.
“The fact that two got out alive is a miracle,” she said following the shooting.
Two other young constables, Keeley Brough and Randall Kirk, survived the attack.
The man reported missing, Nathaniel Train, his brother Gareth and Gareth’s wife Stacey are all believed to be responsible.
Neighbour Alan Dare was killed by one of the shooters when he went to check on a fire allegedly lit to flush out Const Brough as she took cover.
The trio were killed in a firefight with specialist officers several hours after the four constables first arrived at the scene.
Investigators are yet to officially declare a motive but they’re looking into links between the Trains and extremist conspiracy groups and forums.
© AAP 2022
