A teenager has been charged with terrorism offenses after allegedly plotting to kill Australian students. According to the Queensland Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, the 16-year-old had allegedly attempted to buy weapons online and intended to launch an attack at a Brisbane school. Australian Federal Police assured the public that there was no ongoing public safety threat, while the suspect appeared in Brisbane Children’s Court facing a potential punishment of life in prison.
Australia’s security services say the country is in a “vulnerable” position regarding potential terrorist offenses. They describe the threat level as “probable,” meaning there is a greater than 50% chance of an incident. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) states that social cohesion is reducing in the usually peaceful nation and that “socio-political issues” as well as “personal grievances” are driving up the threat. It believes that “provocative and inflammatory behaviors” are becoming normalized and that social media is amplifying “extremist narratives,” placing young people at risk of radicalization.
The country has been subjected to several attacks in recent years, usually involving stabbing. In April this year, for instance, a 16-year-old stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney. Police quickly described the incident as a terror attack, and media speculation suggested that the Christian cleric was targeted because of his previous criticisms of Islam.
In 2022, police constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow died when they conducted a welfare check at a Wieambilla property owned by Gareth and Stacey Train. Mr. Train’s brother Nathaniel had not been seen for almost three months, so the officers investigated, joined by colleagues Randall Kirk and Keely Brough. The police received no reply at the property and decided to jump a fence and explore the surrounding land, at which point they were met with a barrage of bullets from inside the house. Six people lay dead at the end of what the press described as the first Christian fundamentalist terror incident in Australia.
Gareth Train regularly took part in online forums denouncing the Australian government and law enforcement and accusing them of plotting to take away citizens’ fundamental rights.
