17yo boy arrested after allegedly trying to board plane a gun at Melbourne’s Avalon Airport
A passenger who helped tackle a 17-year-old boy allegedly armed with a gun as he tried to board a Jetstar flight has described the terrifying event at an Australian airport.
Breaking News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A 17-year-old boy has allegedly tried to take a gun onto a commercial flight in Melbourne, before being tackled by the pilot and passengers in a terrifying breach of security.
The incident happened at Avalon Airport, Melbourne’s secondary airport which is used mainly for domestic Jetstar flights, on Thursday afternoon.
Barry Clark, a shearer from Echuca, who was sitting at the front of the JQ610 flight to Sydney, helped detain the teen.
Mr Clark told The Project the boy was the last person to approach the flight attendant after everyone had boarded the plane.
He heard the boy become agitated when he was asked to produce paper work so he could carry out work he claimed he needed to do.
“He got more agitated and more agitated, I looked up and within a second I saw a barrel of a shotgun and I thought to myself, ‘That ain’t a tool that should be on a plane,’” he said.
“In a split second I saw the barrel, but when I saw the complete gun I said, ‘We’re in trouble here.’
“Then I saw it towards her chest and I thought, ‘Well I’ve got to do something.’
“So I got up quietly, he had his back to me, the young girl was facing me and the gun was visible.
“I knew that if I went to the side and pushed the gun away from him, at least if it went off, it would go off on the side of the plane and there was no one there.”
Mr Clark told ABC Radio Melbourne he first noticed the young man dressed up as a worker when he realised the airline staff were questioning him.
“I was worried about there being shots so all I could do was get the gun out of the way, threw it down the stairs and try to put him in a hold and throw him to the ground til the police come,” he said.
Mr Clark said the alleged gunman had “other apparatus on him so I didn’t know what his full intention was.”
Asked what was going through his mind when he tackled the young man, Mr Clark said: “You don’t think, you act.”
“I’ve been taught from a boy to be responsible and look after others and we’re a sporting family so I was quietly confident I could handle him.
“I didn’t want to see that poor girl get shot so you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.”
A passenger on the Sydney-bound flight told ABC Radio Melbourne a young man tried to get on the plane with “a loaded shotgun and knives”.
The 17-year-old was wearing a hi-vis jacket over a black suit, with a tool belt. The pilot emptied the tools from the belt while the boy was being detained.
An airline attendant could be seen taking what appeared to be a gun off the plane.
Police were called to an airport in Avalon about 2.50pm after reports a man with a firearm attempted boarded a commercial flight.
Passengers boarded the plane via the tarmac. The man, wearing a hi-vis vest, reportedly got onto the plane without passing through security, claiming he need to do maintenance.
Police believe the teen from Ballarat managed to get onto the tarmac after breaching a security fence.
Two bags belonging to the boy were checked by Bomb Response Unit as a safety precaution.
“Fortunately no one was injured and the investigation into the incident is ongoing,” a police spokesman said.
The boy remains in police custody and will be interviewed by police as the investigation continues.
“There is no ongoing threat to the community,” a spokesman said.
“We were all boarded, I was last on, sat in my chair, heard a kerfuffle and saw the pilot and this other guy tackling this young boy in a high-vis vest,” Woodrow told the ABC.
“In a split second, the gentleman Barry Clark in 1C saw him and jumped him, tackled him and got him in a choke lock, disarmed him.
“Pilot jumped in too, myself and another gentleman come up to support and hold him down.”
Jetstar said it was aware of a security incident at Avalon Airport and was working with police to “urgently understand what has occurred”.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and we can confirm there are no reported injuries,” a spokesperson said.
Avalon Airport said it was investigating the situation and its immediate focus was the safety of passengers and staff.
A spokesperson for the airport said the matter was being handled by police and Avalon Airport would be closed until further notice.
Originally published as 17yo boy arrested after allegedly trying to board plane a gun at Melbourne’s Avalon Airport
Hamas says Trump’s ‘DEAD’ threat to Gaza undermines ceasefire
Hamas says Trump's 'DEAD' threat to Gaza undermines ceasefire
Read more
Roosters embarrassed as star suffers ugly injury
History says the Roosters cannot win the title after their round one thumping at the hands of the Broncos who look like a totally new team under Michael Maguire.
Read more