| 2018 Melbourne stabbing attack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Bourke Street,Melbourne, Australia |
| Date | 9 November 2018 (2018-11-09) 4:20 pm (AEDT) |
| Target | Pedestrians |
Attack type | Stabbing |
| Weapons | Knife |
| Deaths | 2 (including the attacker) |
| Injured | 2 |
| Perpetrator | Hassan Khalif Shire Ali |
| Motive | Inspired by theIslamic State |
On 9 November 2018, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, a male attacker, set his vehicle on fire andstabbed three people atBourke Street in theMelbourne central business district,Australia, before being fatally shot byVictoria Police.[1][2] Of the three victims stabbed by Ali, one of the stabbed victims died at the scene while the other two were treated by paramedics and taken to hospital. On 10 November, theVictorian PremierDaniel Andrews confirmed that the attack was "an act ofterror" and is being treated as such by counter-terrorism police from both the Victoria Police and theAustralian Federal Police. Police also confirmed that the attack wasIslamic State-inspired.[3]
On 9 November 2018, at around 4:20 pm, a man set fire to aHolden Rodeoute onBourke Street betweenSwanston andRussell Streets, in theMelbourne central business district. The attacker emerged from the vehicle before it burst into flames. Police stated that there were propanegas cylinders in the vehicle, but they did not explode.[4]
The man then went on a stabbing spree with a large knife and wounded three pedestrians, one of whom later died at the scene. The attacker was then confronted by twoVictoria Police patrol officers, a member of the public also attempted to ram ashopping trolley into the attacker.[5] After slashing at the police officers, the attacker was shot once in the chest by one of the officers. The attacker was then disarmed and restrained by Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) members utilising less lethal tactics before being taken to receive medical treatment under guard, but later died in hospital.[6]
On 10 November, the day following the attack, Victorian PremierDaniel Andrews confirmed that "what we saw yesterday was an act of terror." The Guardian has described that he has expressed confidence in the Victoria Police to ensure the safety of Melbourne.[7] Officers from both the Victoria Police and from the Australian Federal Police were involved in a counter-terrorism investigation.[8]
Police identified the attacker as 30-year-oldHassan Khalif Shire Ali, who moved to Australia fromSomalia in the 1990s with his parents and siblings and attendedAl-Taqwa Islamic College. He was married with a young son.[9]
The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police,Graham Ashton, told the media that the attacker was known to federal intelligence agencies but was not actively monitored.[10] TheAustralian Federal Police's acting national manager of counter-terrorism said Hassan's passport was cancelled in 2015 when theAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation believed he was planning to travel toSyria to fight for theISIL terrorist group,[11] but he was never a target of joint counter-terrorism taskforce investigations as they did not believe he was a threat.[12][13] Relatives and acquaintances have described Hassan as having mental health and substance abuse issues, being delusional and agitated prior to the attack, and complaining of "being chased by unseen people with spears."[14]
Hassan's 21-year-old younger brother,Ali Khalif Shire Ali, was arrested in November 2017 for planning to commit amass shooting at Melbourne'sNew Year's Eve celebration.[15][16] Ali Khalif pled guilty to preparing a terrorist attack and in May 2020, he was sentenced to ten years jail, with a seven and a half years non-parole period.[17] On 18 December 2020, Ali Khalif's sentence was increased to sixteen years, with a non-parole period of twelve years.[18]
Sisto Malaspina, aged 74, was killed when the perpetrator stabbed him above hiscollar bone. Eyewitnesses said it appeared Malaspina was walking over to the car after it burst into flames to offer assistance when he was stabbed. A former nurse tried to revive him by performingCPR, but the knife had severed a major artery.[19] Malaspina was the co-owner ofPellegrini's Espresso Bar, a nearby Italian coffee bar. Flowers, messages and photos have been laid in front of the shop as a tribute.[20]
The other two people injured were a 58-year-old retired businessman fromLaunceston, Tasmania, who suffered knife injuries to the head and was taken to theAlfred Hospital for surgery and a 24-year-old security guard fromHampton Park who received lacerations and was taken to theRoyal Melbourne Hospital after being assessed byAmbulance Victoria paramedics.[21][22]
Sisto Malaspina was honoured with astate funeral on 19 November 2018, and a memorial and plaque were installed on the street outside of his restaurant on Bourke Street.[23][24]
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