Australian police shoot dead radicalized 16-year-old boy after knife attack in Perth

According to the police and Prime Minister Roger Cook of the state of Western Australia, there are indications that the teenager has become “radicalized” online. The boy “rushed” toward police and was shot and killed by an officer, Cook told reporters.

Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the incident had “all the hallmarks of a terrorism-related attack” but he was unwilling to label it as such “at this stage”.

The police commissioner described the alleged attacker as a “white man.” He thanked members of the Muslim community who “had the courage to respond and express their concern that this individual was exhibiting disturbing behavior.” Blanch said community members alerted police after seeing the 16-year-old post something online. According to the police commissioner, the teenager who was shot was part of a deradicalization program and was known to the police.

Last month, Australia was shocked by two stabbings in Sydney. A man who police said had psychological problems stabbed six people to death and injured seven others in a shopping center in mid-April. A few days later, a 15-year-old boy stabbed a bishop and several churchgoers during mass at an Assyrian Orthodox church. The police labeled the second stabbing as a “terrorist act”.