One of the cop-killing brothers cornered and shot dead by Queensland’s elite tactical response group had targeted the unit in online attacks.
The Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) has bases in Brisbane and Cairns and its members are called out to handle the most high-risk incidents state-wide.
SERT’s officers are trained in ending siege and hostage situations, dealing with armed offenders on the loose and undertaking counter-terrorism operations.
The unit was called to Wieambilla, three hours west of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon after what began as a routine check for a missing person.
The Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) has bases in Brisbane and Cairns and its members are called out to high-risk incidents across the state. SERT team members are pictured at an operation on the Sunshine Coast in 2018
![SERT's officers are trained in handling siege and hostage situations, dealing with armed offenders and undertaking counter-terrorism operations. A SERT team is pictured taking up position while a gunman was holed up in Brisbane in 2013](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/02/65518287-11530937-SERT_s_officers_are_trained_in_handling_siege_and_hostage_situat-a-1_1670898236602.jpg)
SERT’s officers are trained in handling siege and hostage situations, dealing with armed offenders and undertaking counter-terrorism operations. A SERT team is pictured taking up position while a gunman was holed up in Brisbane in 2013
Four general duties officers attended the property where Nathaniel Train and his brother Gareth shot dead Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29.
A third officer, Constable Randall Kirk, was shot in the leg while a fourth, Constable Keely Brough, managed to escape before the gunmen lit a fire to smoke her out.
Constables Kirk and Brough, both 28, survived but the Trains’ 58-year-old neighbour Alan Dare, who went to investigate after hearing shots fired, was also killed by the brothers.
Sixteen SERT officers were sent to the scene and became engaged in a siege that turned into a shootout which ended about 11.30pm when Nathaniel Train, his brother and his brother’s wife Stacey were killed.
Team members, who are highly experienced in search and rescue extractions, also recovered the bodies of their slain comrades while under gunfire.
Gareth Train, a conspiracy theorist who claimed the 1996 Port Arthur massacre was a ‘false flag’ operation to disarm the Australian population, had posted online comments critical of SERT.
![Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, was sworn in as a police officer in June 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/00/65518359-11530937-image-a-12_1670891434050.jpg)
![Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, joined the Queensland Police Service in March 2020](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/00/65518363-11530937-image-m-11_1670891420834.jpg)
Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, (left) and Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, were shot dead on Monday at Wieambilla, three hours west of Brisbane. They were both based at Tara police station
![SERT was called to this house at Wieambilla on Monday afternoon after what began as a routine check for a missing person. Nathaniel Train and his brother Gareth were killed in the ensuing siege along with Gareth Train's wife](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/00/65518407-11530937-image-a-13_1670891505239.jpg)
SERT was called to this house at Wieambilla on Monday afternoon after what began as a routine check for a missing person. Nathaniel Train and his brother Gareth were killed in the ensuing siege along with Gareth Train’s wife
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said on Tuesday she could not go into great detail about SERT’s actions because of ‘operational sensitivities’ but said all three offenders were fatally shot by specialist officers.
‘We call them in when there’s a lot of fire, a lot of ammunition and weaponry,’ Commissioner Carroll said.
‘They were called in for a certain reason and I take my hat off to them. They did a tremendous job. That’s what they’re there to do. They’re specialist officers.’
Commissioner Carroll said the scene that confronted the SERT team was ‘extraordinarily distressing’ and what they had to do was ‘extraordinarily difficult’.
Monday night’s operation was the most high-profile engagement in the unit’s history, which can be traced back to 1968 when 33 men were chosen to form the Emergency Squad.
![Monday night's operation was the most high-profile engagement in SERT's history, which can be traced back to 1968 when 33 men were chosen to form the Emergency Squad. A SERT officer is pictured escorting a man in custody after a siege in Brisbane in 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/02/65518261-11530937-Monday_night_s_operation_was_the_most_high_profile_engagement_in-a-2_1670898236611.jpg)
Monday night’s operation was the most high-profile engagement in SERT’s history, which can be traced back to 1968 when 33 men were chosen to form the Emergency Squad. A SERT officer is pictured escorting a man in custody after a siege in Brisbane in 2021
Today the primary unit of SERT is based in the state’s capital as part of the Specialist Response Branch of Queensland Police Service’s Operations Support Command.
Four years ago SERT members assisted in the arrest of two gunmen involved in a six-hour siege at Auchenflower in Brisbane in which a police officer was fired upon.
![Nathaniel Train (above) and his brother Gareth shot dead two young constables](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/00/65518417-11530937-image-a-15_1670891534723.jpg)
Nathaniel Train (above) and his brother Gareth shot dead two young constables
They were also among security forces assigned to protect the 2014 G20 summit in Brisbane as well as the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
SERT’s motto ‘Brothers In Arms’ was dropped in 2018 after complaints it was not gender neutral because the until accepted female applicants.
Joining the ranks of SERT is a rigorous exercise. Before even qualifying for a three-day selection course candidates have to undergo a gruelling fitness testing regime.
In one task, prospective members must complete 10 chin-ups, 35 push-ups and 100 sit-ups before running 10km in under 46 minutes then swim 400m in less than 10 minutes.
Those who make it through to the next phase face what is regarded as the most difficult and demanding selection process in the Queensland Police Service.
Candidates are subjected to physical and mental endurance challenges under individual and team conditions.
They endure sleep deprivation, are tested on survival skills and need to face phobias including fear of heights and enclosed spaces.
![Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said on Tuesday she could not go into great detail about SERT's actions because of 'operational sensitivities' but said all three offenders were fatally shot by specialist officers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/02/65518441-11530937-Queensland_Police_Commissioner_Katarina_Carroll_said_on_Tuesday_-a-3_1670898236616.jpg)
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said on Tuesday she could not go into great detail about SERT’s actions because of ‘operational sensitivities’ but said all three offenders were fatally shot by specialist officers
Officers who make it through the first selection process are invited to take part in a 14-week training course in which the first month is devoted to physical training.
The next fortnight features education in rural tactical policing and marksmanship. Six more weeks are spent developing skills such as driving, fast-roping and close quarter actions.
Successful course participants apply for positions in a team where they will undergo further training before becoming operation SERT members.
From there, members can continue to increase their skills with advanced training undertaken with other police and military units.
SERT reportedly has a long tradition of cooperation with Japanese Special Assault Team officers, with whom they share tactics, equipment and training methods.
![SERT officers are pictured attending a house at Alexandra Heads on the Sunshine Coast as negotiators try to speak with a man they believe can assist with a homicide investigation](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/01/65519847-11530937-image-a-20_1670895218017.jpg)
SERT officers are pictured attending a house at Alexandra Heads on the Sunshine Coast as negotiators try to speak with a man they believe can assist with a homicide investigation
Accredited SERT members are armed with M4 carbine assault rifles and are the only police in Queensland to carry the Heckler & Koch USP pistol as their sidearm.
SERT was formally established as a fulltime tactical group in 1992 to replace the part-time Special Weapons and Operations Squad.
Police were first called to the Wieambilla property to check on Nathaniel Train, formerly head teacher at Walgett Primary School in north-western New South Wales.
Train had not been seen by some loved ones for more than a year and had not been heard from since October. He was reported missing last week in Dubbo.
![SERT members are pictured attending a home in Townsville in February 2021 after reports an armed man was holed-up inside](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/13/02/65519213-11530937-SERT_members_are_pictured_attending_a_home_in_Townsville_in_Febr-a-36_1670897464255.jpg)
SERT members are pictured attending a home in Townsville in February 2021 after reports an armed man was holed-up inside
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk