Sebastian Newman hit with fresh charges after homemade explosives set off at Westfield Miranda
A Sydney man who allegedly set off chemical explosives at busy shopping centre in the city’s south has now been charged with allegedly planning a terrorist attack.
NSW
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A Sydney man who allegedly set off chemical explosives at busy shopping centre has now been charged with allegedly planning a terrorist attack, with police claiming he wrote a manifesto and posted it online.
Sebastian Newman, 21, was last week arrested and charged with leaving a substance to create a false belief of danger, possessing a chemical explosive device, and possessing a knife in a public place after he allegedly set off homemade bottles of chlorine mixed with alcohol in bathrooms at the shopping centre on July 25.
But police have now laid additional charges against Newman in Sutherland Local Court, alleging Newman knowingly collected or made documents connected to terrorism and planned a terrorist act.
Officers raided his Loftus home after the altercation at Westfield Miranda, seizing mobile phones, electronic devices and chemicals to be examined.
According to court documents, Newman allegedly prepared the bottles full of chlorine and alcohol and wrote the document before sharing it online “in preparation for a terrorist attack”.
A statement from NSW Police said prosecutors would allege in court Newman had a “mix of ideological beliefs”.
Newman, who was remanded in custody after he did not apply for bail for his first charges, will next appear at Downing Centre Local Court on September 25.
One of Newman’s neighbours in Loftus said the 21-year-old lived with another two young men, and “never heard much from them”.
“They just seem like regular young guys, nothing strange,” they said.
Court documents from Newman’s first appearance state he allegedly hid the same explosive concoction in “various concealed places” across the Westfield last Thursday, with the intention to “induce a false belief that the substance was likely to be a danger to the safety of the public”.
The Westfield Miranda was not evacuated at the time, but police established a number of crime scenes.
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