Australian police search properties after Melbourne attack
- Two houses searched after 31-year-old man set fire to a vehicle laden with gas cylinders in city centre then went on stabbing spree before being shot by police
Australian counterterrorism investigators were searching two properties in suburban Melbourne on Saturday morning, the day after a man killed one person in what authorities said was a terrorist attack in the city.
Police identified the attacker as 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali and said his brother was arrested last year on charges of planning an attack in Melbourne.
Shire Ali set fire to a pickup truck laden with gas cylinders in the centre of Melbourne on Friday and stabbed three people, killing one – popular restaurant owner Sisto Malaspina – before he was shot by police.
“Joint Counter Terrorism Team investigators are executing search warrants at two addresses in Werribee and Meadows Heights this morning” Victoria police said in a statement.
Earlier, Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said in a television interview that Shire Ali was known to authorities because of his brother, and also had driving, theft and cannabis offences.