Somali refugee was shot by police in Footscray within 11 seconds, court told

A man who allegedly rushed at two policemen with a knife in Footscray was fatally shot within 11 seconds of coming into contact with the officers, a court has been told.

At the first hearing into the death of Abdinasir Abdullahi Salad, the Coroners Court of Victoria heard the 35-year-old Somali refugee had stolen a kitchen knife from a nearby Kmart store inside Footscray Plaza just after 8pm on April 17, shortly before he was shot.

Abdinasir Abdullahi Salad was fatally shot by police after he allegedly lunged at them with a knife in Footscray last month.Credit: Jason South

Salad, who also goes by the name Abdifatah Ahmed, a rough sleeper with mental health issues, was shot dead by the two police officers on Albert Street in Footscray about 9pm.

Lawyer assisting the coroner Lindsay Spence told the court Salad allegedly ripped open a packet of knives inside the Kmart store, stole the largest one, and ignored a staff member who yelled out to him to stop as he left the shop.

At 8.12pm, Salad was observed speaking to an unidentified man on Paisley Street, after which he sat down at a bus stop for a short period.

The court was told that less than an hour after he was seen in Kmart, Salad was observed on Paisley Street with a large kitchen knife and an “agitated” expression by a couple who called the police.

“They were concerned with the way that he was holding the knife, that he was ...‘ready to go’,” Spence said.

After the triple-zero call, a sergeant and a constable were sent to the area, where they walked along Paisley and Albert streets looking for Salad.

The officers spotted Salad on the north-western corner of the intersection of Paisley and Albert streets at 9.05pm.

The entire interaction between police and Salad allegedly lunging towards them lasted 11 seconds, the court was told.

Salad walked across the pedestrian crossing on Paisley Street as the sergeant, who already had his pepper spray out, approached him, Spence said.

The sergeant then allegedly removed his gun from its holster while yelling out to Salad, “police, don’t move, drop the knife”. Salad did not respond, the court heard.

The constable, who was on a phone call at the time, then ended his call and allegedly also withdrew his gun.

The court heard that as Salad exited the pedestrian crossing, the sergeant then yelled, “put it down. Put the knife down”, to which Salad also did not respond.

The sergeant then allegedly commanded Salad to “get on the ground”. The court heard Salad did not react.

Salad is alleged to have continued to approach the officers, and the sergeant moved back a few steps as he broadcast over the police radio “we need another unit, he’s got a knife”.

The court heard that the constable told Salad again to “drop the knife, drop the knife” before he is alleged to have run towards the constable and the officers opened fired.

“As he has run towards the ... constable, there have been a number of discharges from the police firearms,” Spence said.

Salad fell to the ground while the sergeant said over police radio “shots fired, shots fired” and “we need AV [Ambulance Victoria] and a backup unit now”, the court was told.

Despite attempts to revive him, Salad died at the scene.

Spence told the court there was no evidence Salad said anything during his entire interaction with police.

The hearing was also told of Salad’s previous interactions with police, including an incident in January last year when he ran at another police officer while wielding a knife next to a factory in Altona North, in an incident captured by body-worn cameras.

The factory owner had asked Salad to leave when he pulled a knife out of his jacket and said: “I will stab you.”

Police were called and saw Salad walking near a shopping centre.

The court was told Salad took a knife from his waistband and ignored commands from a police officer to drop it.

Spence said the officer used pepper spray on Salad, but it had no effect, and the constable withdrew his firearm.

“Abdinasir [Salad] ran towards him with the knife, ignoring all commands to drop the knife, resulting in a deployment of OC spray that had no effect,” Spence said.

Salad allegedly refused to the drop the knife but backed away from police and walked towards a nearby car park.

Police followed him with guns and pepper spray drawn.

The spray still had no effect, the court heard, so police struck him to the head with a baton before restraining him and taking him into custody.

Salad was charged with a number of offences, including threatening to inflict serious injury, affray, assaulting police and possessing a controlled weapon.

He pleaded guilty and spent 32 days in prison.

In a second interaction with police in March this year, officers were called to a Coles supermarket in Moonee Ponds after Salad was allegedly caught eating food from the delicatessen.

Police attended, but officers had limited success in engaging with Salad and were unsure whether this was because he had mental health issues or was under the effects of drugs. The officers sent him to hospital for treatment, the court heard.

Spence said the Somali refugee arrived in Australia in 2013, initially settling in WA with his father and older brother before relocating to Melbourne in July 2023 to study English.

He had mental health-related interactions with authorities in both WA and Victoria.

“The coronal investigation is currently obtaining the relevant records in respect of these involvements,” Spence said.

After Salad’s death, hundreds of protesters rallied in Footscray, holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Mental health needs care not bullets”.

His death caused outrage among the local community, who questioned why police did not try to calm the situation and deploy non-lethal force before using guns.

An investigation by the homicide squad with oversight from Victoria Police’s Professional Standards Command is underway, which will be independently reviewed for the coroner.

The coronial investigation remains ongoing.