After Melbourne siege, parole becomes a priority for CHOGM
YACQUB Khayre was a violent criminal, a terribly behaved prisoner and a one-time terror suspect with known links to extremists.
After serving time for a violent crime and having his parole eligibility date delayed because of “poor behaviour” behind bars, the 29-year-old was released on parole last year, having to adhere to strict terms and conditions.
Still, on Monday night, he was able to lure a female escort to meet him at a bayside Melbourne hotel, shoot dead a man who worked at the serviced apartment block when he arrived, hold the woman hostage, then start a gunfight with counter-terror officers and shoot three before being killed.
Police said Khayre arranged to meet a woman at the Buckingham Serviced Apartments in Brighton after booking her services through an escort agency.
Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said Khayre shot dead an employee of the building before taking the woman captive.
“He was an employee of the serviced apartments, so he appears to have been in the wrong place at, unluckily, the wrong time,” Mr Ashton said
He was not named because police were still trying to inform relatives.
“He had done nothing wrong except work at the apartment,” Mr Ashton said.
Islamic State’s media arm released a statement claiming Khayre was “a soldier of ISIS”.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said there were “very, very grave questions” to be answered over why this dangerous man was able to carry out this attack that police are treating as an act of terrorism in the name of Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Khayre came to the attention of NSW police and the Australian Federal Police in 2009 when he was charged – and later acquitted – over a plot targeting Holsworthy Army barracks.
Since then he has spent about two years in jail for 42–45 offences, including burglaries, assault and drug possession.
Mr Turnbull said there had been “too many cases of people on parole committing violent offences of this kind”.
He said parole would be a “high priority” at Friday’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
“He was known to have connections, at least in the past, with violent extremism, but he was a known, violent offender. How was he on parole?” Mr Turnbull asked.