Western Australian police say they have shot and killed a teenager who allegedly attacked a man in a Perth car park on Saturday night, Ednews reports via The Guardian.
Detectives on Sunday said there was no ongoing threat to the public and the 16-year-old was believed to have been acting alone in Willetton.
The WA police commissioner, Col Blanch, said the incident “certainly has all the hallmarks” of a terrorism-related incident, but he was not prepared to declare it as such “at this stage”.
“It’s about timing,” Blanch said. “It would be too early for me to act now because I don’t have the concerns of a broader network that might be involved.”
The premier, Roger Cook, said there were indications the 16-year-old “had been radicalised online”.
The 18-year-old who was stabbed was in a serious but stable condition in hospital and “doing well”, authorities said on Sunday.
Blanch said police received a call on Saturday night from a person who told the operator they were “going to commit acts of violence”.
That person hung up without giving their name or location. But the call was followed by another alerting police to someone “running around a car park” with a large kitchen knife.
Three police officers responded within minutes and were immediately confronted by the teenager holding a large knife, Blanch said.
The commissioner said two officers drew their Tasers and a third officer drew their firearm. When asked to put down the knife, the 16-year-old did not respond and, according to body-camera footage, allegedly ran at the officers, Blanch said.
The first two officers fired their Tasers but when the teenager allegedly continued to approach, the third officer fired a single shot which fatally wounded the 16-year-old, police said.