2014 Endeavour Hills stabbings

2014 Endeavour Hills stabbings
Coordinates 37°58′33″S 145°15′43″E / 37.975927°S 145.261833°E / -37.975927; 145.261833Coordinates: 37°58′33″S 145°15′43″E / 37.975927°S 145.261833°E / -37.975927; 145.261833
Date 23 September 2014 (2014-09-23)
7:45 p.m. (AEST, UTC+10:00)
Target Counter-terrorism officers
Attack type
 Stabbing attack
Weapons Two knives
Deaths 1 (the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries
 2
Perpetrators Numan Haider

On 23 September 2014, 18-year-old Numan Haider stabbed two counter-terrorism officers in Endeavour Hills, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was then shot dead.[1]

Part of a series on
Terrorism in Australia

Notable attacks
Notable plots
Counter-terrorism

Legislation

Raids

This major incident lead to Australia's terror level being raised to "HIGH". It remains that way as of December 2015.

Perpetrator

Haider lived in Narre Warren, Victoria, and was of Afghan descent.[2]

He was one of between 40 and 50 Australian citizens who had had their passports cancelled due to fears that they would join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[1]

Attack

Haider is reported to have attended the police station to discuss his cancelled passport. Two police officers, from the Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), approached him in the car park. Haider produced a knife and slashed the Victorian officer across the arm. He turned on the AFP officer and first stabbed him in the face and chest. When the officer collapsed, Haider climbed on top of him and repeatedly stabbed him. The Victorian officer ordered Haider to drop the weapon, then shot him fatally in the head.[3]

Haider was carrying two knives and the Black Standard flag.[4]

Reaction

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whom Haider had allegedly threatened during the stabbing, stated, "Obviously this indicates that there are people in our community who are capable of very extreme acts. It also indicates that the police will be constantly vigilant to protect us against people who will do Australians harm."[1]

Three days before the attack, ISIL propagandist Abu Mohammad al-Adnani gave a speech calling for ISIL sympathisers to attack countries including Australia. Professor Greg Barton of Melbourne's Monash University Global Terrorism Research Centre stated his opinion that the attack was not inspired by the message. He called for community engagement to prevent attacks from people suspected of terrorism.[1]

Victoria's police commissioner stated that bag searches would mean longer queuing for the 2014 AFL Grand Final at Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September.[5]

The Age newspaper put a photograph of an innocent man, Abu Bakar Alam, on the front page mistakenly identifying him as the perpetrator of the attack. As part of the settlement the newspaper donated $20,000 towards building a mosque in Doveton, Victoria.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Neubauer, Ian Lloyd (24 September 2014). "A Teenage Terrorism Suspect Is Shot Dead in Australia After Attacking Police". TIME. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Alcorn, Gary (24 September 2014). "Abdul Numan Haider was quiet, gentle and softly spoken, friend says". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Lillebuen, Steve (4 October 2014). "Teen terror suspect Numan Haider ignored police warning". smh.com.au. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Silvester, John. "Melbourne terror shooting: Numan Haider 'planned to behead Victoria Police officers, drape bodies in IS flag'". Sydney Morning Herald (24 September 2014). Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Cook, Henrietta (24 September 2014). "Police to step up security at AFL grand final after terror suspect's death in Endeavour Hills". The Age. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Trounson, Andrew (3 March 2015). "Age sorry to victim of snap slip". The Australian.
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