Boss speaks out after worker shoots dead his colleague and then himself with an eerie message about the killer

The owner of a silo shop where a worker shot his colleague before turning the gun on himself during a police standoff has spoken for the first time.

Lachlan Bowles stormed Moylan Grain Silos at about 8.40am on Thursday morning wearing head-to-toe camouflage and carrying a high-powered rifle and pistol.

There he shot dead his colleague, 44-year-old father Terry Czernowski, before fleeing in his car.

The small town of Kellerberrin, in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region, was shaken to its core by the tragedy. Many locals said they never expected such violence from the ‘silent’ volunteer paramedic.

Most shocked of all was Bowles and Mr. Czernowski’s boss, Corey Moylan.

Mr Moylan said both men were part of his ‘go-to’ team at the workshop and were considered reliable employees.

He remembered Mr. Czernowski as a “fantastic” man who “made us laugh unintentionally, without even trying.”

“He was one of those guys who just got on with it… it’s just a big shame,” he said ABC news on Wednesday.

The father of one was on long-term leave this year and planned to spend it with his young daughter.

Mr Moylan added that it is “hard to blame Bowles after working together for about four years.”

“This is with the utmost respect for both families involved; It’s pretty hard to dislike the man who caused this massive event,” Mr Moylan said.

“From a business and city point of view he was Lachlan working for us, and until the events of last Thursday he was one of us.

“If we had a problem with a machine, if we needed to take care of something, he was the guy we went to and he fixed it without question, without blinking,” he said.

“So, you know, the sentiment obviously changes if he caused all this, and this will continue for years to come, (but) we knew that about Lachlan.”

“So, you know, the sentiment obviously changes if he caused all this, and this will continue for years to come, (but) we knew that about Lachlan.”

The distraught business owner described how other employees rushed to help Czernowski after the shooting.

“They threw Terry in the car to try to get him to hospital, which will be traumatic for the boys involved for years to come,” he said.

“So if they take the initiative and do that… they’ll be friends for life, but… they still have a long way to go from what they’ve seen.”

After the shooting, Bowles drove his car northeast out of town before abandoning the vehicle and continuing on foot.

It was then that local farmer Rob Linto spotted the shooter on the side of the road.

“I didn’t think much about it but then I saw him stop… he had a gun pointed at me as I came towards him,” Linto told The West Australian on Friday.

“So when I saw the gun, I thought I had to (speed up). So I just put my foot down, but as I passed, he obviously turned around and lined me up, and had a shot.

“So I didn’t stop. I just kept launching. I stopped once and thought I heard a car coming, so I got in and out again.’

Mr. Linto finally stopped and called triple-zero. Only later did he realize that a bullet had passed through his car and narrowly missed him.

At around 2pm, WA Police revealed they had tracked down Bowles in a grain paddock and were negotiating with him.

During conversations, Bowles reportedly waved a Nazi flag and called his mother to apologize for the horror attack.

At 4:30 p.m., police confirmed that Bowles had shot himself and died despite officers from the Tactical Response Group hoping to reach a peaceful resolution.

Mr Moylan said the tragic ordeal felt surreal and like something he would see ‘on the news or in the movies’.

“There’s no manual … on how to deal with it, so we just look back on it in complete disbelief, to be honest,” he said.

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