Police have charged a man over the fatal shooting of a Department of Environment and Heritage worker at a property north of Moree on Tuesday.
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Glendon Turner, 51, of Tamworth, was found dead at the property at Croppa Creek, about 55km north of Moree, about 5.40pm.
Barwon Local Area Command arrested Ian Turnbull, 79, of Moree at a nearby property about 11pm.
He was taken to Moree Police Station and has been charged with murder. He was refused bail and will appear at Moree Local Court on Wednesday.
A source at the department said the worker was a father of six and had been serving a notice on an elderly man at the property when he was shot.
The man was receiving the notice because he was suspected of illegally clearing vegetation.
Another worker was with the victim when he was shot, the department source - who did not wish to be named - said. He is understood to be in shock but is otherwise uninjured.
The elderly man had been served previous notices for illegal clearing on his property and around the Croppa Creek area.
The victim had informed the man that there would be a formal inspection of his property on Wednesday.
NSW Environment Minister Rob Stokes said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the tragedy.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family and tight-knit staff of the Office of Environment and Heritage at this most difficult time,” Mr Stokes said.
“It is hard to fathom how it is that someone who leaves for work in the morning does not return in the afternoon.
“On behalf of the chief executive Terry Bailey and my colleagues in the NSW government, our hearts go out to all those who have been impacted by this tragedy."