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The reasons why a 25-year-old volunteer paramedic shot a co-worker dead and then turned the gun on himself hours later in front of a group of police tactical negotiators is being probed this week at a Perth coronial inquest.
Lachlan Bowles was the subject of an active shooter manhunt on September 7, 2023, after he shot father of one Terry Czernowski, 44, dead at Moylan Grain Silos in the Wheatbelt town of Kellerberrin and then fled the scene with a number of guns, firing at a passing driver before hiding in a nearby wheat paddock.
Hours of negotiation with specialist police ensued, but he could not be talked down and just after 4pm that day he took his own life.
Speculation was rife about what led to the incident that sent the small town into lockdown with locals shocked to hear that it was “model citizen” Bowles who had committed such a heinous crime.
But on Tuesday, the Coroner’s Court of Western Australia was told that Bowles was struggling with his mental health, was likely suffering with undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and had been engaging with nationalist violent extremist material in the weeks and months leading up to his and Czernowski’s death.
The inquest heard that Bowles was dressed in black clothing, wearing a balaclava and a Nazi armband, and was armed when he turned up at Moylan’s at about 7.40am that day.
“As Terry left the truck shed, Lachlan fired several shots at close range using a .357 Magnum revolver and a .22 calibre pistol, both of which were licensed to him,” counsel assisting the coroner Will Stops told the inquest.
“Terry collapsed and colleagues attempted to assist him. He was transported by work vehicle to Kellerberrin Hospital, where he was certified life extinct at 9.10 am. A post-mortem later confirmed fatal gunshot injuries to the head and chest.”
The Tactical Response Group, based 200 kilometres away in Perth, arrived at the scene to support local police three hours after the initial shooting.
After leaving Moylan Grain Silos, Bowles fled Kellerberrin in his vehicle but later abandoned it and then fired a shot into a passing LandCruiser, the bullet travelling through the vehicle cabin and narrowly missing the driver.
By 1pm a police drone located Bowles lying in a wheat crop and for the next 4½ hours police negotiated with him.
They successfully encouraged him to surrender three of his four firearms in exchange for water.
“He displayed a Nazi flag and made statements about death, the absence of meaning, and his intention to die,” Stops said.
“During the negotiation, Lachlan said he had been ‘thinking about murdering someone for some time’, had ‘dreamt about it’, and that because Terry had spoken about suicide he ‘might as well help him’.
“He stated, ‘Whether he takes his own life or I take it, the end result is the same.’ He told police he would not surrender and that he intended to die.”
But at 4.20pm Bowles used his remaining rifle to take his life.
The inquest was told that Bowles held a single individual firearm licence authorising four firearms – a Winchester rifle, a pistol, a Smith and Wesson revolver and a .357 rifle.
He was a member of the Kellerberrin Pistol Club and also attended the Beacon Gun Club. His handguns were licensed for club-use only and his rifles were licensed for vermin control on rural properties where he held written permission to shoot.
The inquest heard the police’s Internal Affairs Unit conducted a review of their actions on the day and found “no criminality, no improper conduct and that the police response — including the negotiation strategy, containment, and use of less-lethal options — was lawful, reasonable and appropriate”.
The TRG also completed an operational review and found that officers acted in accordance with all relevant policies and procedures.
The unravelling of an unwell man
A retrospective assessment of Bowles’ mental state found that he likely had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder, underlying anxiety and severe depression. They also noted that although he had begun engaging with Nationalist Racist Violent Extremist material, ideological motivation was not the primary driver of his actions.
Dr Mark Hall, who compiled the report, told the inquest that he felt Bowles was likely on the autism spectrum after speaking with family members about him.
“He had problems in social interactions and social communication which was suggested by a history of not wanting to be interrupted especially if he was talking about something that he was passionate about,” he said.
“He was described at robotic at times … happy to engage if it was something he was interested in. Had difficulty with eye contact, struggled to maintain any or was intense and concrete thinking, took things literally.
“He was described as being blunt and lacking tact.
“He told his parents that he had trouble being able to show empathy for his brothers despite wanting to. He was highly routine-driven and made his bed so tidy every day it was possible to bounce a coin off it.”
In 2019, Bowles applied to the defence force but was rejected. In 2022, he applied to the police force but was rejected.
Hall said those rejections would have been hard for Bowles to accept, but he took their advice to engage in volunteer work with St John Ambulance.
However, even this role could have contributed to his mental decline, Hall said.
“Exposure to those things can be difficult to process. In Lachlan’s case he was distressed that he could not save everybody. He wanted to help and save everybody but was repeatedly exposed to failures.”
Bowles also had an obsession with Nazi history.
“He had an interest in military history – that was his main interest – Russia, Japan, World War II. In particular Nazi Germany,” Hall said.
The 25-year-old was also raised in a Christian household but had struggled with his faith in recent years.
In the weeks before his death, Bowles was clearly suffering from severe depression, Hall said, telling the inquest that he was not eating or sleeping.
Evidence also suggested that Bowles thought he was “in some way bad and capable of evil” making “callous comments” to negotiators and indicating feelings of hopelessness.
“Since these events, significant reforms have been introduced under the Firearms Act 2024 (WA) and associated Regulations,” Stops said.
“These reforms include mandatory health assessments for new applicants, periodic health checks for existing licence holders, enhanced probity alerting, improved inter-agency information-sharing, the creation of a comprehensive firearms portal, and clearer licence categories with numerical limits.”
The inquest will continue on Wednesday, hearing from the police negotiator and other officers involved in the incident.
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