Police are investigating the possibility that a teenager who allegedly stabbed a University of Sydney student in the neck with a kitchen knife had been radicalised online.
No charges have been laid so far against the 14-year-old who is currently awaiting a mental health assessment.
Police say on the morning of July 2, the boy, dressed in camouflage gear, stabbed a 22-year-old man who was not known to him.
Colleagues rushed to use a piece of clothing to stem bleeding before paramedics arrived.
The man was taken to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a serious but stable condition and released the next day.
The teen then took a bus from the scene before being arrested by police.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating the incident and say they don’t believe the incident was motivated by religious reasons.
Officers are following a line of investigation that it may have been access to extreme online content that caused the teen to become radicalised.
New South Wales Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the accused attacker had been charged over another incident in 2023, but the case had been dismissed in court.
He had been engaging with a Community and Justice department program. There are reports it was a deradicalisation program.
“We have to make sure that we wrap services and support around these kids who are being radicalised online and their families,” Ms. Catley told media on July 3.
“To parents, to carers, if you’re a coach of a kid or if you’re their teacher, if you see behaviour that changes, then say something, come forward and let us know, because we cannot help if we do not know.”
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said deradicalisation programs did have some impact but said the issue of online radicalisation still needed more awareness.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton told media the internet was a toxic place and there was a growing number of children aged from 12 to 16 who were becoming involved with online radicalisation.
“It’s very easy for young people to self-radicalise. Parents should have an appreciation of what their kids are looking at online,” he said.
According to the Australian government, Australia has some of the highest internet use rates in the world, with 84 percent of Australians being online at least once a day.
Signs of becoming radicalised online, either individually or as part of a group, can include using social media platforms to promote violent or criminal behaviour for a cause and viewing or downloading violent extremist content.
