Overview
- WA’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team confirmed the Forrest Place incident is being treated as a potential terrorist act, with investigations ongoing and no ongoing threat to public safety.
- Police describe the seized device as a viable homemade fragment bomb containing volatile liquids, screws and ball bearings, allegedly designed to explode on impact but failing to detonate as about 2,500 people were evacuated.
- A 31-year-old man has been charged with making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances and committing an unlawful act with intent to harm, and his identity has been suppressed for safety reasons.
- Forensic teams are deconstructing the device, conducting chemical analysis, and downloading the suspect’s electronic devices after a search of his home uncovered materials consistent with homemade explosives.
- Rally organisers say they received several serious threats before the event and are urging hate-crime and terrorism charges, while the Human Rights Commission called for urgent action on racism in response to the near-miss.