The man who was stabbed in the back by a radicalised 16-year-old boy in a Bunnings car park has broken his silence from his hospital bed in Perth, saying he is still coming to terms with what happened to him.
The man aged in his 30s, who does not want to be identified, was stabbed in the carpark of the Willetton Bunnings store about 10.15pm on Saturday.
Police have said the violence meets the definition of a terror attack.
The victim remains at Royal Perth Hospital and released a short statement on Wednesday.
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READ NOW“I am currently coming to terms with my injuries and the circumstances surrounding the events of Saturday evening,” he said.
“I would like to thank the first responders who attended the scene, the staff at Royal Perth Hospital for the treatment that I have received, and the community for their support.
“This is very difficult time for everyone involved, and I ask that I now be afforded privacy as I recover from my physical injuries and the emotional toll that this has place on me.”
The teenager had called triple-0 to say he planned to kill all men in the area and condemned Australia’s support for Israel.
The boy was shot dead after he ran towards officers with a knife and tasers were not successful.
Education Department director-general Lisa Rogers said on Wednesday that the Rossmoyne Senior High School student who attacked the man was suspended for several days after an altercation with another student last week.
“In this instance … he offended and he was suspended,” she told ABC radio.
“The school acted absolutely appropriately. Any offence on school site like that, we would expect a boy or a student to be to be disciplined.”
The Education Department this week confirmed the teenager had also been involved in an incident in 2022 involving a small explosion in an empty toilet stall.
Ms Rogers said the boy and two other students had thrown a lithium battery into a toilet.
Nobody was harmed and no major damage was caused to the school.
Ms Rogers said the boy had been charged and given a juvenile caution and the school referred him to the federal police.
He was then enrolled into a Countering Violent Extremism program.
“There was no indication at that point that he was at a risk in terms of an imminent threat to danger in the school,” Ms Rogers said.