Australian police fatally shoot a knife-wielding teen accused of carrying out a terror-linked stabbing incident.
A 16-year-old boy, identified as a Caucasian youth, allegedly wielding a knife committed an attack in a Perth suburb as reported by Western Australia (WA) Premier Roger Cook. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch described the event as potentially resembling an act of terrorism and meeting the standards of such criminal activity.
Blanch divulged that police received a call on Saturday night from a man who declared he would carry out violent acts. Soon after this call, they received another report that a young man with a knife was running amok. Dispatching three officers to the scene, they encountered the culprit who was in possession of a sizable kitchen knife.
The officers warned the suspect to drop the knife, yet he disregarded the commands and charged them. They attempted to subdue him with two tasers, but were unsuccessful, necessitating a third officer to open fire and fatally wound the boy. Before the encounter with the police, the suspect had injured a middle-aged man with the blade, who is now in stable condition at the hospital with a back injury.
The alleged perpetrator was familiar to the police as he had been in a program focusing on violent extremism due to concerning behavior for the past few years. "We're dealing with complex issues regarding this 16-year-old male, both mental health issues and online radicalization issues," Blanch explained.
Blanch shared that police had received numerous calls both before and following the incident from those belonging to Western Australia's Muslim community, prompting them to rapidly identify the individual and react. "I appreciate the Muslim community's efforts to inform us, as it allowed us to quickly respond," Blanch praised.
Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, said in a press release on the matter: "Australia values peace and there is no room for violent extremism here."
This incident follows a recent stabbing involving a priest and a bishop at a church in Sydney, which authorities deemed a terroristic act and apprehended a 16-year-old over the occurrence.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
