Abdul Numan Haider was a “person of interest” who police had been investigating for three months before he stabbed two cops and was shot dead in Melbourne on Tuesday.
ISIS-linked websites praised terrorist Numan Haider today.
Abdul Numan Haider was targeting Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
ABC.net reported:
The 18-year-old who was shot dead in Melbourne after stabbing two anti-terrorism officers was researching Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s travel plans, the ABC understands.
Abdul Numan Haider was a “person of interest” who police had been investigating for three months before the incident on Tuesday night outside the Endeavour Hills police station.
The ABC understands Haider did not make a direct threat against the Prime Minister, but did make specific inquiries about Mr Abbott’s plans to visit Melbourne.
But as more details emerge about why Haider – whom the ABC understands had planned a trip to Iraq and Syria – was the focus of a counter-terrorism investigation, those close to the teenager have painted a different picture.
Mohamed Ibrahim roomed with Haider on a Muslim youth camp last year and described him as gentle and quiet and a man who was not aggressive or radical.
“He was a gentle, soft spoken young boy and when I heard the report yesterday about a man who had been shot – when I actually found out he was Numan – I was absolutely shocked,” he told the ABC’s PM program.
