Police swarm high school of boy shot after online threats

Police have swarmed the West Australian high school of a 16-year-old boy, who was shot dead by police, after online threats were made about the school. The teen stabbed a man in the Willetton Bunnings carpark in Perth’s south about 10.15pm on Saturday, with police shooting the boy after they were unable to stop him with Tasers. The man who remains at Royal Perth Hospital in a stable condition. A WA Police spokesperson said they were investigating the threats that appeared to be vexatious and not made by the sender. “Police do not have any concerns for the safety of the students, teachers and the broader community, and WA Police continue to work with the Department of Education to identify the source of the messages,” the spokesperson said. One parent, upon leaving a meeting with the principal at the school, told reporters authorities would not tell parents if other youths that are part of a group of known extremists attended the school or where they were located. “The Department of Education will not give out that information,” she said. The parent said they had been told the school had done everything it could to ensure students’ safety and that it was “no concern” that the student had remained at the school after he detonated a homemade bomb that destroyed a toilet block. “We had a known extremist that brought a bomb to school,” she said. “They knew he was an extremist before the bomb, he had been an extremist in a program for about four years now, the bomb happened last year.” She said students at the high school and other schools nearby felt scared, and if authorities were to wait until something happened to act, it would be too late. On Monday, Premier Roger Cook confirmed claims that parents of students who attended Rossmoyne Senior High School, the same school as the boy, raised concerns about the teenager. Mr Cook revealed the teenager had been radicalised online despite only having access to a “very basic telephone” with no internet access. Before the attack, the teenager sent a final message to people saying he was going on “the path of jihad”, with members of Perth’s concerned Islamic community alerting police to the messages. “Brothers please forgive me for any time I have wronged you, I am going on the path of jihad tonight for the sake of Allah,” the boy, who had reportedly converted to Islam, wrote. “I am a soldier of the mujahideen of al-Qa’ida and take responsibility for the actions that will … take place tonight.” He also warned his contacts to “clear” incriminating evidence from devices like laptops and phones. “If you have any illegal or jihadi things online or in real life please make sure to hide them well and clear your technology such as laptops and phones including search history … as the police will likely look into my contacts,” the boy wrote. The teen had reportedly attempted to indoctrinate other students at his high school and had spent more than two years in a “deradicalisation” program after he was radicalised online. WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said while Premier Roger Cook would like to spin this incident as an example of how his government was keeping the community safe, she struggled to agree with such a suggestion. “We have an incident where a 16-year-old who had been in a deradicalisation program had been involved in creating a homemade bomb which had destroyed a toilet block,” she said. “He had plans to interrupt an assembly in the most devastating of ways and had been able to continue to learn in a public mainstream school. “There were a number of red flags raised by parents in this community and the Minister for Education continued to fob off those very real concerns. “This is a government failing to keep a community safe. “It is appalling to hear this government had repeatedly fobbed off this very real concerns of parents from this school community.” Department of Education director general Lisa Rodgers said it was a distressing incident for everybody and they were working closely with the school to make sure students were getting all the support they needed. “I cannot comment on the specifics of this police investigation, but I can reassure parents there are very comprehensive protocols across many government agencies to identify students who may present a risk to others in relation to violent extremism,” she said. “This includes referrals to the Department of Child Protection. Once a student is referred, specialist teams within WA Police case-manage the young person.” Ms Rodgers said this process for dealing with students vulnerable to extremism had been in place between WA Police and the Department of Education since 2016, and in this particular case all the proper protocols were followed. “Since 2022, this student has been on an individual management plan which outlined rules in regard to his behaviour, monitored his attendance and online engagement, included routine check-ins to authorities and saw him provided with extensive psychological support,” she said. “He was also part of the Countering Violent Extremism Program. “In every case when a young person is identified as being at risk of radicalisation, state Government agencies work together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the whole student population, including those who may be vulnerable to extremism.”