{"id":475935,"date":"2026-02-12T21:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/475935\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T21:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:58:17","slug":"lake-cargelligo-residents-live-in-fear-as-julian-ingram-clocks-up-three-weeks-on-the-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/475935\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Cargelligo residents live in fear as Julian Ingram clocks up three weeks on the run"},"content":{"rendered":"

Larn Masterson’s voice falters as she describes the impact the murders of three Lake Cargelligo residents and an unborn child have had on her NSW Central West community.<\/p>\n

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families.<\/p>\n

“Grief is apparent everywhere you look,” she said.<\/p>\n

“There is so much hurt in the community.”<\/p>\n

On January 22, Julian Ingram allegedly shot dead his former partner, 25-year-old Sophie Quinn, who was seven months pregnant, her cousin, 32-year-old John Harris and Ms Quinn’s aunt, 50-year-old Nerida Quinn.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Sophie Quinn, John Harris and Nerida Quinn were killed during the shooting spree in Lake Cargelligo. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Mr Ingram is also accused of firing at 19-year-old Kaleb Macqueen, who survived the shooting spree but was seriously injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old remains at large three weeks on, despite an aerial and ground search involving hundreds of NSW Police officers, the Australian Defence Force and volunteers.<\/p>\n

Ms Masterson is the chief executive of not-for-profit organisation Down the Track, which supports Indigenous youth and their families in Lake Cargelligo.<\/p>\n

Since the deaths, her organisation has provided meals, emergency accommodation, and support to community members and to visiting friends and family.<\/p>\n

“Everyone is struggling,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This fear and exhaustion are just bubbling beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

“Some people don’t want to leave their house. Of a night, the streets are silent. There’s no music playing. You can’t hear people talking.”<\/p>\n

It’s a scary thought to know we’ve gone from six police officers in our town to over 100, and they still can’t find him.”<\/p>\n

Ms Masterson said the centre has become a sanctuary amidst the community’s sense of safety being shattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The kindness that’s come out of this kind of event has really blown me away.<\/p>\n

“I’m proud to be a part of the community. \u00a0We’re strong, we’re connected.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

There \u00a0has been just one reported sighting of fugitive Julian Ingram, since he is alleged to have shot three people at Lake Cargelligo on January 22, 2026.\u00a0 (Supplied: NSW Police)<\/p>\n

Search timeline<\/p>\n

Thursday, January 22:<\/p>\n

Julian Ingram is captured on CCTV<\/a> attending the Lake Cargelligo police station.<\/p>\n

At 4:20pm, emergency services are called to Bokhara Street, where 25-year-old Sophie Quinn, a former partner of Mr Ingram, is found shot dead in a car, along with her friend, 32-year-old John Harris.<\/p>\n

Soon after, in Walker Street, Ms Quinn’s aunt, 50-year-old Nerida Quinn, is also fatally shot, and 19-year-old Kaleb Macqueen is seriously injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Ingram was last sighted leaving Lake Cargelligo, in a Ford single-cab utility with Lachlan Shire Council markings.<\/p>\n

Sunday, January 25:<\/p>\n

Police confirm a\u00a0 possible sighting of Mr Ingram at Mount Hope<\/a>, an isolated community north-west of Lake Cargelligo.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, January 27:<\/p>\n

Police release new images of the ute<\/a> Mr Ingram was last seen driving.<\/p>\n

Monday, February 2, 2026:<\/p>\n

Police declare a critical incident investigation<\/a> to probe their own actions in the lead up to and the investigation of the shooting.<\/p>\n

Court documents show Mr Ingram was granted bail on November 30, 2025, for domestic violence charges relating to Ms Quinn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finding Julian Ingram police priority<\/p>\n

NSW Police said in a statement that the search at Lake Cargelligo and surrounding areas continues for Mr Ingram.<\/p>\n

“Specialist police teams from State Crime Command, Homicide, Tactical Operations Unit, Tactical Operations Regional Support, Negotiation Unit, Rescue and Bomb Disposal, including search co-ordination and drone pilots, Rural Crime investigators, and investigators from Central West Police District, remain in place conducting task-focused searches.”<\/p>\n

There has been limited information released by police about the ongoing search for Mr Ingram in the last week and a half.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Robertson, CEO of Lifeline in the NSW Central West, said she understood why but conceded it had made residents anxious.<\/p>\n

“It is an active police investigation, and of course, they have to be really careful,” she said.<\/p>\n

“They’re certainly not being inactive. In some regards, we’ve got to trust the system.”<\/p>\n

The ABC can confirm on Thursday that officers searched a home at Eubalong West, north of Lake Cargelligo and near where Mr Ingram grew up.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Police officers search a vehicle at Euabalong West as part of their search for fugitive Julian Ingram.\u00a0 (ABC News: Xanthe Gregory\u00a0)<\/p>\n

Officers spent several hours collecting clothes and items from numerous cars.<\/p>\n

They then moved to a rural location near the village, where officers used a drone to search bushland.<\/p>\n

NSW Police said locating the fugitive remains a priority.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The isolated Mount Hope area has been a focus of the search. (ABC News: Hamish Cole\u00a0)<\/p>\n

‘Years to heal’<\/p>\n

Ms Masterson said the victims of the shooting had strong ties to Lake Cargelligo.<\/p>\n

“Sophie was one of the most beautiful people you’ll ever meet. She was getting her life together, preparing to have a beautiful little boy that she was so excited about.<\/p>\n

“John John (sic) was just a kind, kind man. \u00a0He was an amazing youth worker.<\/p>\n

“Nerida … she would volunteer at the drop of a hat. \u00a0She was there for her family.”<\/p>\n

\"Flowers<\/p>\n

Floral tributes were left near where Sophie Quinn and John Harris were shot.\u00a0 (ABC Westren Plains: Lily Plass)<\/p>\n

Ms Masterson said while there was ample mental health support for the community now, in the aftermath of the tragedy, she feared for the future.<\/p>\n

“This isn’t just going to heal in three to six months, this is going to take years to heal from,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Long-term, we need these services to be here for us, and we need regular faces to build trust.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Multiple crime scenes were established around Lake Cargelligo in the wake of the shootings.\u00a0 (ABC News)<\/p>\n

It is a sentiment Lifeline Central West has endorsed, emphasising the importance of working with services already established in the community.<\/p>\n

“It’s one of the things we see time and time again, when that support is withdrawn too quickly,” Ms Roberston said.<\/p>\n

“What we don’t want to do is lose that sense of connection with people, because we know that’s incredibly important.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Larn Masterson’s voice falters as she describes the impact the murders of three Lake Cargelligo residents and an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,227534,242414,72540,227535,44],"class_list":["post-475935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-julian-ingram","tag-lake-cargelligo-shootings","tag-manhunt","tag-mt-hope","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}