Killer parolee had history of violence
KILLER parolee Yacqub Khayre’s deadly terror rampage came after years of offending and second chances.
News Corp can reveal his criminal history included extreme violence, drug-fuelled break-ins and jailhouse arson.
The climax came in Monday’s Brighton siege in which he murdered a hotel worker, took a woman hostage and shot three police, before being gunned down.
Police were last night delving into every element of his life as a political firestorm erupted over why he was on the streets.
Khayre, who was paroled in December after being jailed for a home invasion, had previously committed serious crimes on bail and appeared beyond rehabilitation.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews was forced to defend his record on crime, hours after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull went on the offensive.
“How was this man on parole? He had a long record of violence,” Mr Turnbull said.
The Roxburgh Park home of Khayre — who was compared to Lindt cafe killer Man Haron Monis — was raided by counter-terror investigators.
It emerged he severed a monitoring bracelet as the Brighton drama unfolded.
A major priority for detectives will be finding where Khayre — who had a history of firearms and violence offences — was able to get his hands on the shotgun he used.
They suspect he may have tried to lure police into a confrontation by taking a Colombian-born escort as a hostage after shooting dead a male employee of the Bay St complex.
Islamic State claimed responsibilty for the attack but police downplayed the claim.
Meanwhile, the state’s top anti-terror officer, Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton, said the public could expect increased security at major events over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
Mr Patton said no mistakes had been made by counter-terrorism police in the Khayre matter and that state and federal investigators had a strong record of intervening in terror plots.
But questions surfaced about the capacity of terror authorities to watch and control an ever-increasing number of people of interest.
“There’s too many of them to be monitored properly,” a source with knowledge of the anti-terror sphere said.