Confronting footage has emerged of a “radicalised” teenager charging at police with a knife before being shot dead, as the boy’s final message to his friends is revealed.
CCTV from a nearby Korean restaurant shows the 16-year-old chasing a police car when it pulled into a car park in Willetton, Perth, on Saturday night.
WA Police were called to the car park outside Bunnings shortly after 10pm after it was reported that the teenager had stabbed a man he did not know in the back.
CCTV showed police confronting and surrounding the teenager as they begged him to drop the gun.
The teen was seen a short distance away from about four police officers as blue and red lights flashed in the rain-soaked parking lot.
Two officers unsuccessfully attacked him with a Taser, before lunging at a third, who fatally shot him.
Terrifying images have emerged of a “radicalised” teenager charging at police with a knife before being shot dead.
Police were called to the car park shortly after 10pm on Saturday night.
READ MORE: ‘Radicalized’ teen shot dead by police after knife attack
A man in his 30s, unknown to the teenager, was taken to hospital in serious condition with back injuries.
That same night, the teenager had warned his friends that he was “going down the path of jihad.”
The message, sent to several people on social media, sparked a wave of calls to police about the boy’s actions. Western Australia reported.
“Brothers, please forgive me for any time I have wronged you. Tonight I will embark on the path of jihad for the cause of Allah,” the boy wrote.
“I am a soldier of the Al-Qaeda mujahideen and I take responsibility for the actions that… will take place tonight.”
The message is full of praise to Allah.
“If you have illegal information about jihadists online or in real life, make sure you hide it well and clean your technology, such as laptops and phones, including search history… as the police will probably investigate my contacts,” he wrote. .
‘I love you all.
‘Please do not forget me and the mujahideen in your duat (hereafter).’
The message ended with No need to reply to this text.’
The principal of the teen’s former high school warned parents to be on the lookout for “misinformation or inappropriate comments.”
An email was sent to parents on Sunday afternoon offering support after It was learned that the police shot dead a student at the school.
The director also urged parents to be careful not to allow their children to gather together to discuss the ordeal and express their feelings without the presence of a responsible adult.
WA Police Commissioner Colonel Blanch said the teenager did not comply and lunged at officers, urging them to deploy their Tasers before the third officer fired a single shot.
Security cameras from a nearby restaurant showed the moments before police shot the teen.
The teenager had called the police at 10:10 p.m. without identifying himself to say that he was “going to commit acts of violence” before hanging up the phone.
Police said the teenager was among “three out of four” participants in an official deradicalization program for those exhibiting behavior that could be religious or issue-motivated starting in 2022.
Commissioner Blanch said the boy was known to police, had mental health problems and appeared to have been radicalized online.
“Members of the WA Muslim community contacted police, and also called triple-0, just before the incident to express their concerns,” he said.
“I want to thank the members of the Muslim community who did that because it allowed us to quickly identify who this individual was and respond as quickly as we did,” he said.
The imam of Perth’s largest mosque, the Nasir Mosque, Imam Syed Wadood Janud, condemned the attack in the strongest terms.
“The entire community is shocked and we are all concerned about the online radicalization of perpetrators, which early reports suggest,” he said.
‘There is no place for violence in Islam. We appreciate the efforts of police to keep our communities safe. I also want to congratulate the local Muslim community who had already reported the individual to the police.’
The teenager had reportedly converted to Islam.
Commissioner Blanch said the incident had the “characteristics” of a terrorist incident, but she would not classify it as such “at this time.”
‘I think this is a person acting alone. I do not need additional capacity at the moment as long as it meets the criteria, or at least the definition,” said Commissioner Blanch.
“It would be too early to act now, because I don’t have the concerns of a wider network that might be involved at this stage.”
WA Police were called to the car park outside Bunnings Willetton shortly after 10pm where they found a teenager armed with a 30cm kitchen knife.
WA Premier Roger Cook said there were indications the boy had been radicalized online.
The 16-year-old had previously been involved in a countering violent extremism program since 2022, with the support of psychologists and religious leaders.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said intelligence and security officials did not believe there was an ongoing threat.
“I have received a report on the situation from the Director General of ASIO and the Commissioner of the AFP, and have been informed that there is no ongoing threat to the community based on the information available,” he said.
“We are a peace-loving nation and there is no place for violent extremism in Australia.”
A man in his 30s, who was found nearby with a stab wound and a punctured lung, was reportedly leaving a 24-hour gym at the complex at the time of the attack.
He was treated at the scene by St John Ambulance WA and transported to Royal Perth Hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
More than 30 police vehicles rushed to the Bunnings car park (pictured) on High Street in Willetton, south of Perth, about 10pm on Saturday following reports of a stabbing.