Wieambilla ambush not an act of religious terrorism, coroner finds

The 2022 fatal ambush of police officers in Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, was not an act of religious terrorism but the result of a shared delusional disorder brought on by a belief the shooters were experiencing the end of days, Queensland’s state coroner has found.

But State Coroner Terry Ryan conceded the legal definition of terrorism was narrow and might not reflect the reality of the times.

Ryan handed down the findings of his inquest in Brisbane on Friday, more than a year after wrapping up the hearings.

Ryan said it was “difficult to see” how any police officer would have been equipped to respond to the events at the rural property, west of Brisbane, on December 12, 2022.

Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were gunned down while responding to a missing person’s report f