MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A 16-year-old boy who was shot dead by police after stabbing a man in the Australian west coast city of Perth had been engaged in a deradicalization program since he detonated a homemade explosive device in a school toilet block two years ago, police said on Tuesday.
The boy had injured a man with a kitchen knife in a hardware store parking lot on Saturday night before police killed him with a single shot. The boy had told associates in a text message: “I am going on the path of jihad tonight for the sake of Allah.”
It was the third high-profile knife crime to shock Australia in recent weeks after two Assyrian Orthodox clerics were injured in a Sydney church and a Sydney shopping mall rampage in which six people were killed and another dozen were wounded.
Western Australia Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the boy killed in Perth had been a voluntary participant of the federally funded Countering Violent Extremism program since 2022 when he caused an explosion at a toilet at the Rossmoyne Senior High School, which he attended. The boy had received treatment for mental health issues as well as extremist inclinations.
It's (almost) Met Gala time. Here's how to watch...
Macron takes part in charity soccer game, showing off sporting prowess
Parents' fury after trans supply teacher explained their gender identity to seven
Former Labour minister Frank Field dies from cancer aged 81: Tributes pour in for 'formidable' ex
How major US stock indexes fared Monday, 5/6/2024
New Jersey Democrat Rep. Donald Payne Jr. dies at 65 after heart attack
German leader says Europe must keep increasing aid to Ukraine after US approves new military help
It's 20 years since the last ever episode of Friends. But from body
Ohio lawmakers negotiate to assure Biden makes the state's fall ballot
Atalanta comes from behind to beat Salernitana and improve Champions League chances
The human foods that could be making your dog fat, revealed