Australian police today said they have foiled a plot to commit a mass shooting in a crowded Melbourne square on New Year’s Eve.
Ali Khalif Shire Ali, 20, an Australian-born citizen with Somali parents, allegedly tried to obtain an automatic rifle to attack the downtown Federation Square in Australia’s second-largest city.
About 450,000 people gather in central Melbourne to ring in the New Year.
Ali was arrested in front of locals in Werribee, a suburb of Melbourne, just before 3pm yesterday.
He appeared before Melbourne magistrates’ court today charged with preparing to commit a terrorist attack and gathering documents to facilitate a terrorist act.
Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said they believed Ali was trying to get an automatic rifle to “shoot and kill as many people as he could” around Federation Square.
Police said they moved in to arrest him because he had been having face-to-face meetings about getting a gun.
Ali, who police said was connected to other extremists, did not manage to obtain one.
Mr Patton said Ali had accessed documents produced by al Qaeda, including a “guidebook” on how to commit a terrorist act and how to use firearms.
He was remanded in custody to return to court in March.
Mr Patton said the threat to this year’s festive celebrations in Melbourne had been averted.
“We’re quite confident that there’s no risk or no threat to the Victorian community now that we have removed him from society and he’s being interviewed,” he said, adding that an attack could have been catastrophic.
Australia has strict gun laws and automatic weapons are banned from private ownership.
The man is the 74th suspect arrested in Australia in 31 counter-terrorism investigations since the country’s terrorism threat level was elevated to “probable” in September 2014.
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