Sydney: Abdul Numan Haider, the man behind the stabbing of two police officers, was reportedly being investigated by the anti-terrorism officials and was a “known terror suspect”.
The 18-year-old's family is from Afghanistan and he was reportedly associated with the radical Islamic group Al-Furqan. However, he had recently moved away from the group.
Al-Furqan Islamic Centre was raided by Australian Federal Police in 2012 as it was believed that certain members of the group had controversial views.
He was seen with a flag of Islamic State (IS) and his passport was also cancelled on security grounds.
Haider was killed on Tuesday evening after he stabbed two members of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team at a police station on the outskirts of Melbourne where he had appeared for a "routine" interview. One officer then fired a single shot which killed him.
Shortly after the incident, Justice Minister Michael Keenan said that Haider was a 'person of interest' to law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
In recent months, Haider's family grew concerned about his behaviour and wanted him to seek counselling from a professional, as per a news report by ABC News.
His parents unsuccessfully tried to stop him from stepping outside on the night of the shooting, the report stated.
