A “known terror suspect” who made threats against the Australian Prime Minister after stabbing two police officers has been shot dead, a day after Islamic State group called on its supporters to wage terror in their home countries.
The 18-year-old attacker was killed last evening after he stabbed two police officers from the Joint Counter Terrorism team in Melbourne’s outer south-east. Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan confirmed this morning that the man was a known terror suspect.
“I can advise that the person in question was a known terror suspect who was a person of interest to law enforcement and intelligence agencies,” Keenan said. The Minister, who would not take questions as it was an ongoing investigation, urged the community to “remain calm”.
The suspect, whose family are from Afghanistan, had his passport cancelled recently and was considered a “person of interest” by authorities over terrorism, according to an
ABC report. He had been associated with the radical Islamic group called Al-Furqan, the report said. local police said an altercation between the man and the two officers took place after he was asked to attend an interview as part of an investigation.