A 17-year-old child was detained after attempting to table a Jetstar trip while carrying a loaded gun while breaking security at Avalon Airport.
The teenager entered the airport through a hole in the perimeter fence on Thursday night around 2:20pm ( local time ), dressed in a high-visibility neon vest and dressed similarly to the airport ground crew. He was just inside the plane when people tackled him to the floor while flying JQ610, bound for Sydney.
Superintendent Michael Reid said it was too early to determine whether the affair was a terror-related one as officers conducted an investigation with the counter-terrorism control.
Reid even praised the courage of the crew members.
No doubt that the travellers of that aircraft may have experienced a very terrifying experience, and Victoria Police sincerely applauded the heroism of the pilots who were able to overthrow that man, he said.
According to ABC News, one of the people, named Woodrow, thanked Barry Clark, a gentleman in couch 1C, for stopping the think.
We were all boarded, he said,” I was the last one on, sat in my head, heard a kerfuffle, and saw the captain and another man tackling this young boy in a high-vis coat, which from a distance appeared to be ground crew,” he said.
Clark, who lives in Echuca, reported that he first spotted the girl when a flight attendant interrogated him.
He claimed that the youth was acting as a contractor and became agitated,” there was a gun.”
Before police arrived, Clark and various people restrained him.
The director acknowledged the severe security breach and stated that Jetstar and Avalon were working with them to look into the incident.
Avalon Airport was partially closed while examinations raged, but people who were in the situation were permitted to leave.
The student is expected to encounter a number of federal and state charges, according to authorities.
