Perry James IRWIN

Around 11am on Friday 22 August, two children phoned the Caboolture Police Station saying an armed man had accosted them as they rode through bushland. Two police cars were immediately despatched to the area where the alleged gunman had been sighted. Police became increasingly worried about his proximity to houses and schools.

Senior Sergeant Irwin, the officer in charge of Caboolture Station, and two other officers left the station to assess the unfolding situation. While the officers were on route to the area, cordons were being erected and schools and houses evacuated. On arrival at the suspected gunman's bushland location, Senior Sergeant Irwin and his colleagues entered the bush on foot to locate him.

A short time later, Senior Sergeant Irwin was ambushed as he walked to an elevated area to give a situation report to the station via his mobile phone. Irwin was shot twice by 21-year-old drug addict Damien Coates, who had been hiding behind a disused concrete pit close by. The Senior Sergeant’s colleagues could not reach him because Coates continued firing on them until he committed suicide a short time later. Senior Sergeant Perry Irwin died at the scene.