TRANSCRIPT:
It should have been a normal evening for customers of Bunnings at Willeton, in Perth’s southern suburbs.
But on Saturday night [[4 May]], its carpark was the scene of two tragic events: the stabbing of a man, and the fatal shooting of a teenager who police allege was responsible for the first attack.
Col Blanch is Western Australia's Police Commissioner.
He says bodyworn footage of the incident shows the teen approaching police who at first deployed their Tasers - which did not have the "desired effect" .
"Two officers drew their Tasers and one of the officers drew his firearm. They challenged the male to put down his knife, which - he did not comply. That male indicated he was going to commit acts of violence."
Western Australia's Premier Roger Cook says police had arrived at the Bunnings store after several triple zero calls were made about the teenager.
"Members of the W-A Muslim community who were concerned by his behaviour contacted police prior to the incident - and I thank them for their help."
An investigation is now underway into the incident, with initial inquiries suggesting the 16 year old had been radicalised online.
It's understood he had been in an anti-radicalisation support program since 2022, but police don't have concerns he is part of a wider network.
The Premier says the full investigation is likely to be a complicated one.
"These situations are never straightforward, these cases are never straightforward, there's always a complex set of circumstances and conditions which sit in the background of that. So it's not just a situation of someone having a linear progression along extremism, there are other issues that contribute to their situation. So we'll continue to get a better idea of all those ingredients to that level of complexity, and be able to provide further detail."
The ASIO director-general and Australia's Federal Police commissioner have both briefed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the incident.
The P-M has posted a statement on social media saying that he's been advised there's no ongoing threat to the community on the information available
He's also pointed to Australia as being "a peace-loving nation" which has "no place for violent extremism".
It's a sentiment shared by Syed Wadood Janud, who is the Imam of Perth's largest mosque, the Nasir Mosque.
He has condemned the attack "in the strongest terms".
"We condemn any acts of violence that are committed in our name."
Meanwhile, as the investigation gets underway, Commissioner Blanch has said there is a broader conversation that needs to be had across Australia.
"We've got young people who are clearly having thoughts that are causing these outcomes, and that's something that we all - across Australia - need to work hard to stamp out."
The man who was stabbed has not been identified.
He's understood to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
W-A's Commissioner says the attack appears to have been a random one as the injured man wasn't connected to the teen in any way.
He's acknowledged community concerns in the wake of other recent stabbing incidents, but says they are "very rare".
"We have a very large population in Australia and we don't see these type of attacks - almost never, really. So my message to the community is one of assurance. We live in one of the safest places in the world, one of the safest places in the world. This is a tragic and sad event, and we've always got to work on doing it better. One is too many. But we do live in a safe place, and people in W-A are safe, and the police responded extremely quickly."
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