Authorities investigate explosive device allegedly throwing into Aus Day rally as potential act of terrorism

An explosive device allegedly thrown into a crowd of Australia Day protesters is being investigated as a “potential terrorist attack”. The WA Joint Counter Terrorism Team on Wednesday confirmed they were continuing to investigate the alleged incident, after a 31-year-old man allegedly hurled a liquid-filled glass container, wrapped in ball bearings and screws, into an Invasion Day rally at Forrest Place about 12.30pm on Monday. “Further charges have not been ruled out,” a WA JCTT spokesperson said. “There is no ongoing threat to public safety.” The northern suburbs man — whose identity has been suppressed — was charged with making an explosive under suspicious circumstances and endangering the life, health and safety of others, and faced court on Tuesday. He was remanded in custody and is due to return to court on February 17. Authorities were alerted to the incident after a member of the public witnessed the man allegedly throw the device from an upstairs walkway outside Myers. Footage shows a person dressed in a black shirt and wearing a facial covering throw an object from the balcony tier towards the protesters gathered beneath, before running away. The device landed in front of the Forrest Place stage area while speeches were underway but did not detonate, with police later describing the incident as a “potential mass-casualty event”. The 31-year-old man was escorted back to his home, where officers found items “consistent with the manufacture of homemade explosives”. It’s believed the suspect acted alone and was not known to police. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the device would have “seriously injured, if not killed” rally attendees, had it gone off. He said chemical analysis and reconstruction would likely determine the device’s blast radius. “We understand there was an attempt to light a fuse, and that attempt either failed or the fuse fell out, one of those two things has potentially happened,” he said.