May 6th 2024.
Over the weekend, a tragedy unfolded in Perth when a 16-year-old student from Rossmoyne High School was shot and killed by police. This young boy, who had been previously placed in a program to address violent extremism, had confessed to being a jihadist and had even caused an explosion in the school's toilet block using a battery.
Moments before the incident, the boy had messaged his acquaintances, writing in Arabic, "Peace be upon the Messenger of God. May his peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you." He then continued in English, "Brothers please forgive me for any time I have wronged you, I am going in the path of jihad tonight for the sake of Allah Azzawajal. I am a soldier of the Mujahideen of Al-Qaeda and take responsibility for the actions."
This message was alarming to members of the Muslim community who quickly alerted the police. When the officers arrived at the Bunnings on High Road, the teenager approached them in the car park and was met with two Tasers before one shot was fired, ultimately leading to his death.
Many of his fellow students at the high school described him as a kind and genuine person who had a lot of friends. They also shared that he may have been struggling with mental health issues and needed help. "People need to start focusing more on mental health and stop assuming that he was this bad person," one student said. "He had a lot of friends and was well known and was a very kind and genuine person and I wouldn't think he would have done something like this."
According to a parent, he was known to be a kind-hearted and helpful child, but there were concerns about his behavior that had been raised multiple times. In fact, he had previously caused an explosion in the school's toilets using a lithium-ion battery. Two years ago, he was placed in a special program to address his potential radicalization.
The Western Australian Premier, Roger Cook, expressed his support for the program, stating that those who come to the attention of the police for their actions should continue to receive support. "Our police will go through their processes and it is important that that be backed up," he said. "My job is to back up our security agencies and the work that they do."
Liberal Party leader, Libby Mettam, also spoke out about the incident, stating that there were multiple red flags that should have been addressed by all involved agencies, including security agencies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also commented on the case, saying that it is important to support the work of the security agencies and their processes.
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