Australia in shock as deadly shootout in rural town kills police officers

Two police officers were killed in a shootout at a property in rural Australia, after what initially appeared to be a routine follow-up to a missing-person report turned into an ambush and a lengthy siege, Queensland police said Tuesday.
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The shootout took place Monday afternoon in the Wieambilla locality of Queensland, roughly 200 miles west of Brisbane. A bystander who reportedly tried to help was also killed. Three suspected offenders, whom police say were inside the property with “considerable weaponry,” were later shot and killed by specialist forces dispatched to the scene.

Another police officer was injured, while a fourth feared she would be burned alive, police said.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said Tuesday during a news conference that many questions remain about the incident, including what motivated the suspects and that an investigation is underway. It will likely take “days, if not weeks” to clarify what happened, she said.

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