Brother of Bourke St terrorist admits shooting-spree plot
The brother of the man who murdered Melbourne cafe icon Sisto Malaspina has admitted planning his own devastating terror attack, which would have seen him go on a shooting spree in Federation Square.
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The brother of the Bourke St terrorist who murdered Melbourne icon Sisto Malaspina has admitted planning his own devastating terror attack.
Ali Khalif Shire Ali today pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to a single terrorism charge over the plot to shoot as many people as possible in a New Year’s Eve attack at Federation Square.
INSIDE BOURKE ST TERRORIST’S LAIR
TERRORIST BAILED WEEKS BEFORE RAMPAGE
He is the fourth Melbourne man to be convicted of terrorism offences in the past week.
Ali is the brother of terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali who was shot dead during a stabbing rampage in Bourke St last year.
The unexpected guilty plea came after just hours after Supreme Court justice John Champion told lawyers in another hearing that he expected Ali’s trial to finally start next week.
The matter had been in a pre-trial hearing for over two weeks with lawyers arguing about matters including the admissibility of evidence.
Ali Ali was arrested during a raid of his Werribee home in November by Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police and ASIO officers.
He had been under surveillance for close to a year.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said at the time Ali’s plan would have had “catastrophic” consequences.
“This is a person who expressed an intention to try and kill as many people as he could through shooting them in Federation Square area on New Year’s Eve,” he said.
“It is a tremendous concern to us that (during) the festive season, when people are out enjoying themselves, there is a potential plot to commit a terrorist act.”
Police alleged Ali had accessed an Al-Qaeda guide book on how to commit a terrorist act and researched how to use firearms, guns and handguns and rifles.
Ali was well connected in extremist communities in both Melbourne and Sydney.
His older brother, responsible for the devastating Bourke St attack, had referred to himself online as a wannabe Islamic State terrorist and had voiced his support for IS as well as plans to fight abroad.