FBI alert reveals Melbourne teenager’s plot to shoot school, derail train and poison water supply, court hears

Crime
FBI alert reveals Melbourne teenager’s plot to shoot school, derail train and poison water supply, court hears
The 19-year-old had bought ammunition, explosive chemicals and parts to make guns, a court has been told.
A Melbourne teenager was allegedly preparing a shooting spree at his former high school and planning to plant bombs at a university, derail a train and poison the city’s water supply, as revealed in a series of handwritten notes uncovered by counterterrorism police in his home, a court has heard.
The 19-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had allegedly obtained parts to build a gun, a small cache of weapons, chemicals to manufacture explosives, and tactical gear including a ballistic vest and helmet.
The FBI alerted Victoria Police investigators to the risk posed by the teenager after he allegedly asked online for instructions on how to build a gun and said he wanted to “take revenge” on his high school class.
The teenager also allegedly shared images of materials he was planning to use to manufacture the weapon and asked for advice about how to carry out a school shooting and “get away with it”.
Details of the alleged plot were revealed during a bail hearing on Friday afternoon at the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court, where police argued the 19-year-old’s risk to the community was too great and he should remain behind bars.
The court heard the teenager had researched shootings in the US and was in the process of creating a blueprint of his former high school on the video game Minecraft called “Minecraft school incident”.
The teenager, who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, had also Googled how to dispose of dead bodies and the words “insanity plea”.
A note allegedly written by the teenager
“By the time police arrive, I can imagine them breaking down the door, coming into the house and seeing the gory mess. I hope it’s one or two cops’ first day of work, and when they see the bodies, it haunts them for life. True, call me disturbed if you want, but I simply don’t care. You could be a principal reading this and realising there could be a possible killer in the school, but I don’t care … Just a word of advice if you’re a principal reading this: if you expel me and put a restraining order on me, I’ll show up anyway, kill a random student before I kill myself.”
Detective Senior Constable Andrew Tucker told the court the 19-year-old had spent a considerable amount of time developing plans for various attacks.
“This includes checklists of items to obtain in order to carry out his attacks, with some of the items checked off,” Tucker said.
The court heard police first raided his family home in Melbourne’s south-east in February after being contacted by the FBI.
They allegedly uncovered several metal parts used to manufacture a gun, hundreds of ammunition rounds, a Taser, chemistry glassware, assorted chemicals, and plans for homemade guns and explosives.
Excerpt allegedly from the teenager’s diary
“Fear isn’t always a good strategy and keeping a family together. Fear uses violence and rebelling against the authorites like the Hong Kong protests in China. Using fear as a way to control children is unnecessary. It introduces violence into the children’s minds, making them assume that it’s correct, and in extreme cases, parents have been murdered. I believe that children that end up murdering their parents because of violence are not criminals, they are merely victims pushed to this point.”
Investigators also uncovered handwritten notes in which the teenager allegedly outlined his grievances against his former high school, including staff and students, Monash University, and his parents.
The notes were also said to outline plans to carry out a shooting at a bus stop using a homemade firearm, bomb a university, derail a train using chemicals to erode the tracks, poison the water supply, poison members of the public with manufactured poisons, shoot police officers, and shoot at his old school.
The teenager was arrested and had his firearm licence suspended. He provided a “no comment” interview and was released shortly after, pending an investigation into the chemicals uncovered at his home.
Police raided the teenager’s home again in April and uncovered a bayonet, flick knife, slingshot, military tactical vest with ballistic plate carriers, tactical knee pads, tactical helmet with a camera mount, GoPro-style camera, gas mask, firearm shoulder holster and shooting range targets, the court heard.
The following day, officers arrested the teenager and charged him with improperly storing ammunition, possessing housebreaking implements, and possessing explosive substances without excuse over the stash of explosive chemicals uncovered in the first raid.
He was bailed subject to strict conditions including a curfew and attending mental health services.
Four months later, in August, police returned to the teenager’s home for a firearm prohibition check and uncovered handwritten notes including schematics for a possible explosive device and firearm, the court heard.
In one of the notes dated August 29, the 19-year-old allegedly stated that if he did not get into a bachelor’s course by the end of October he would have “run out of excuses for those responsible and this time I will not hold back”. Another suggested he could have built a pocket-sized firearm prototype.
“The best thing is it just doesn’t require reloading, and I’m planning to make another one more similar, with similar properties,” the note read. “Who knows? It could be months before the pigs discover anything wrong at all.”
Following the discovery of the notes, police checked the teenager’s bank account and discovered he had ordered 250 grams of potassium nitrate, a chemical that can be used to manufacture explosives, the previous month. An inspection of his eBay account also showed he had bought various chemicals, remotely operated dog shock collars, hunting knives, a slingshot, and a tactical vest, the court heard.
“Remote shock collars used with dogs can be used as a remote detonator if intended,” Tucker said.
Security and counterterrorism officers executed a fourth search warrant on the teenager’s home last month, where they found acetone, acid peroxide, and hexamine tablets, chemicals used to manufacture acetone peroxide, a powerful explosive that does not need a detonator to explode.
They also seized three plastic containers filled with a red plasticine substance and lead pencils sticking out that investigators believe could be used to combust, explode, or burn. Also allegedly at the home were electric shock collars, paper shooting range targets, walkie-talkies, tactical gear, and glass beakers. Some of it had been hidden in the garage, a fence, and vents.
History of concerning behaviour
The court heard the teenager had previously been in trouble at school for behaving aggressively towards staff and graffitiing the words “I have a gun” and “some women deserve to be raped”.