2017 Brighton siege

On 5 June 2017, Yacqub Khayre, a 29-year-old Somali-born Australian, murdered a receptionist and then held a prostitute hostage at the Buckingham International Serviced Apartments, located in Brighton a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.^[3][1] In a subsequent shoot-out with a police tactical unit, Khayre was killed and three police officers were wounded.^[1] Police consider the siege an act of terrorism.^[4]

Siege

On 5 June 2017, Yacqub Khayre booked a female escort through an escort agency, to meet in an apartment at the Buckingham International Serviced Apartments.^[1] At about 4:00 pm, Khayre arrived at the complex, he was armed with two shotguns.^[2] In the foyer of the complex, Khayre fatally shot the clerk, 36-year-old Kai Hao.^[1][5] Khayre then went to the apartment where the escort was waiting and took the 36-year-old hostage.^[1][6][4] Khayre around this time tampered with the GPS ankle monitor, which he was wearing as a condition of his parole.^[4][3]

Victoria Police received reports of an explosion, which is now known to have been a gunshot, and dispatched officers who arrived to find the clerk dead in the foyer.^[1][6] A short time later, a phone call was made to police via 000 by the hostage stating that there was a hostage situation and a dead man at the serviced apartment complex. Khayre interjected, making threats to the hostage if police intervened.^[1][6][4]

Specialist police were called in: the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) arrived first, followed by the Special Operations Group (SOG) who took over tactical command.^[1][6] At 5:41 pm, Khayre made a phone call to Seven News stating "This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda".^[7][1]

At approximately 6 pm, Khayre exited the front of the complex. Yelling and running, he fired a sawn-off shotgun at SOG officers, who exchanged fire and killed him.^[1][6][8] Three SOG officers were shot including one suffering a hand injury and another facial injuries.^[1] The hostage was not harmed during the ordeal but had been tied up for a short period of time.^[4]

Perpetrator

Born in Somalia, Khayre arrived in Australia at age 3 in 1991 as a refugee via a Kenyan refugee camp and grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Whilst at secondary school in Year 12 his grandfather died. He subsequently dropped out of school and began using drugs and alcohol, including ice to which he became addicted, and started committing criminal offences.^[9] The crimes including burglaries and thefts, assaults and an armed robbery with a knife.^[9]

In April 2009, he travelled back to Somalia, where he is alleged to have undertaken military training with the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, with a view to participating in Somali insurgency against that country's government.^[10][11] Whilst in Somalia, he successfully sought from a sheikh a fatwa, a religious order, that police alleged was to authorise a terrorist attack in Australia.^[11] After he returned to Australia in July 2009, he was charged, along with others, with conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack on the Holsworthy Army Barracks. At his trial, his lawyer argued that the fatwa was to do with fraud and obtaining money to support Al-Shabaab in Somalia.^[12] He was acquitted in December 2010 having spent 16 months in prison on remand.^[12][9]

He continued committed criminal offences and in 2011 returned to prison including for possession of a firearm.^[9] In 2012, he committed a home invasion for which he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and was released on parole in December 2016 (he set two fires whilst in prison).^{[9][1][4][13]}

Investigation

The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Graham Ashton stated that police were treating the siege as a terrorist incident given the comments made by Khayre referring to ISIS and al-Qaeda and also given his past involvement with the Holsworthy Barracks terrorist plot.^[8] Ashton stated that police did not know if the crime was spontaneous or was planned, and if so, whether it was a deliberate attempt to lure police to the scene in order to ambush them.^[8][1][4]

Reactions

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated Australia faced “a growing threat from Islamist terrorism” and that he would push states to reform parole laws, questioning how a person with a history of violence was allowed on parole.^[14]

The ISIL propaganda outlet Amaq declared the gunman was a soldier of Islamic State and that the attack was to target citizens.^[3][15]

The Islamic Council of Victoria described it as a "horrendous crime" and stated they understand "that the police are investigating this as a potential terrorist attack but note that the perpetrator himself appeared to be confused as to who he was acting on behalf, claiming allegiance to both ISIS and ISIS and al-Qaeda, known enemies."^[16]

References