A 17-year-old boy was arrested after breaching security at Avalon Airport and attempting to board a Jetstar flight while armed with a loaded shotgun.
The teenager, dressed in a high-visibility neon vest, similar to airport ground crew, entered the airport through a hole in the perimeter fence around 2:20pm (local time) on Thursday. He managed to reach flight JQ610, bound for Sydney, and was just inside the aircraft when passengers tackled him to the ground.
As officers investigate with the counter terrorism command, superintendent Michael Reid said that it was too early to determine if the incident was terror-related.
Reid also praised the bravery of those onboard.
“No doubt this would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers of that plane and Victoria Police really commend the bravery of the passengers who were able to overpower that male,” he said.
One of the passengers, named Woodrow, thanked Barry Clark, a man in seat 1C, for stopping the suspect, ABC news reported.
“We were all boarded, I was last on, sat in my chair, heard a kerfuffle and saw the pilot and this other guy tackling this young boy in a high-vis vest which, from a distance, looked like he was ground crew,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Echuca based Clark informed that he first noticed the teenager when a flight attendant questioned him.
He said that the teen was dressed up as a worker and got agitated, “ there was a gun.”
Clark and other passengers restrained him until police arrived.
The superintendent acknowledged the serious security breach and said that they were working with Jetstar and Avalon to investigate what had occurred.
Avalon Airport was temporarily closed while investigations continued, but affected passengers were allowed to leave.
Police said that the teenager is expected to face multiple federal and state charges.