Authorities say there is no ongoing threat to the public after an allegedly radicalised teenager armed with a large kitchen knife was shot dead by police in Western Australia.
The 16-year-old stabbed a man in the back at a Bunnings carpark at Willetton, in Perth's south, on Saturday night then rushed at officers, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch told reporters on Sunday.
He said bodyworn footage of the incident shows the teen approaching police who deployed their Tasers but that did not have the "desired effect".
The teen then moved towards a constable who fired a single shot, Mr Blanch said.
When officers arrived at the scene they did not know a man had been stabbed in the back in the carpark.
The victim, whose age has not been made public, is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
Mr Blanch said the injured man was not connected to the teen and just happened to be in the area when he was attacked.
The police commissioner said several emergency calls triple were made about the incident, including from the teenager himself and multiple ones from members of the state's Muslim community concerned about his behaviour.
"We believe he sent relevant messages to some of those members who immediately responded by calling police," Mr Blanch said.
"Again, I do want to thank members of the Muslim community who did that, because that enabled us to identify rapidly who this individual was and respond quickly."
He described the teen involved as a Caucasian male with mental health issues who was known to police.
The boy had been part of an anti-radicalisation support programme since 2022 but police do not have concerns he is part of a wider network.
Officers have been in contact with his family.
"I think the family really do understand the situation that police were in, they are being very forthcoming with police," Mr Blanch said.
WA Premier Roger Cook said there was "indications he had been radicalised online."
"I want to reassure the community at this stage it appears that he acted solely and alone," Mr Cook said.
"Members of the WA Muslim community, who were concerned by his behaviour, contacted police prior to the incident and I thank them for their help.
"Our police responded within minutes, they encountered a very confronting situation but their rapid and professional response kept our community safe."
Mr Blanch said the constable who fired the shot and his colleagues were "hurting" but stressed they had done their job.
The ASIO Director-General and Australian Federal Police Commissioner have briefed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the incident.
"I'm advised there is no ongoing threat to the community on the information available," Mr Albanese said on social media.
"We are a peace-loving nation and there is no place for violent extremism in Australia."
An investigation will examine the shooting and events leading up to the incident.
The Imam of the Mahmood Mosque in Adelaide, who previously served in Perth, condemned the attack "in the strongest terms".
"We are once again saddened to learn of another knife attack in which innocent civilians were harmed, this time in Perth," Imam Kamran Tahir said in a statement.
"It should be made very clear that there is no justification for such acts in Islam."
The incident comes after New South Wales police last month charged several boys with terrorism-related offences in investigations following the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop while he was giving a live-streamed sermon in Sydney on April 15 this year.
The attack on the bishop came only days after a stabbing spree killed six at a busy shopping mall in the Sydney beachside suburb of Bondi.
Gun and knife crime is rare in Australia, which consistently ranks among the safest countries in the world, according to the federal government.
- additional reporting by Reuters
