Melbournestan: Australians unable to defend themselves again

Just as Daniel Andrews was reeling from the secret Chinese deal, the third terror attack in the Melbourne CBD in the past 18 months occurred on Friday evening:

“Police found gas canisters in a vehicle belonging to a man who stabbed three people in Melbourne before being shot dead by officers, in an attack police are now treating as terrorism.

The attacker – and some of his relatives – was known to the police and the Australian intelligence services, but his identity has not yet been released. Isis has now claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement through their Amaq news agency that the man was one of their “fighters”.

The chief commissioner of Victoria Police, Graham Ashton, told reporters that an investigation by counter-terrorism officers had been launched.

Police were first called to reports a car was on fire but when they arrived they were attacked by the man, who was armed with a knife. Videos taken by bystanders show a lengthy confrontation between the police and the attacker, as bewildered shoppers pass by.

The man lunges repeatedly at the two officers with his knife, while they attempt to incapacitate him with pepper spray and a taser.”

So, known to Police and ASIO and linked with terror groups. Good thing that national security apparatus, bollards and cops with semi-auto rifles were all in place to prevent it.

So far one person has died and the other two are critical. The assailant has now died.

Here’s a look at some of the incident from one angle:

Here’s a longer one showing one civilian casualty:

And few more from the ABC:

Kudos to the Victorian Police officer who eventually put the bad guy down.

Kudos also to the guy that used a trolley to intervene. It may not have been much, but it was a lot more than the observable passivity and people trying to film situations instead of trying to help. The real tragedy was that Australian law ensured that was all he was essentially allowed to do, other than be a victim like the three others stabbed. As always, it’s not what the assailant has but what the victim can do about it.

And to be brutally honest, it makes Australia look like a laughing stock.

That being said, there are questions surrounding the Police response. Sure, we can all be armchair generals and surmise with 20/20 hindsight what should and could have been done in the heat of the moment, that goes without saying.

However, that doesn’t also mean you can’t analyse the situation and make some observations. And to be fair, it’s been a recurring theme with Victoria Police and the Andrews Government on violent crime since 2013.

Why did they attempt to use a baton and pepper spray on a guy who had just stabbed three people, set a car on fire and was trying to attack officers with a knife?

Why weren’t guns drawn earlier?

And how exactly did a man known to ASIO and on a watchlist get to the point of carrying this attack out?

And on it goes. I’m sure mental health will be the excuse again.

To be fair to the cops, you might want to ask the destroyer of Victoria Police, ex-commissioner Christine Nixon, the question of why the offender was not shot earlier. I’m sure the fear of human rights lawyers saying what a poor victim the assailant was and a two-year inquiry while on paid stress leave, is enough to plant doubt in even the most seasoned officer.

The main question we have is – why weren’t the three other people stabbed, or some other law-abiding member of the public nearby, allowed the practical means to protect themselves? That’s the real tragedy here.

Government couldn’t keep them safe.

This is just going to keep happening until citizens start demanding the means to protect themselves against violent crime. It sure beats the usual apologist, emotive drivel from Daniel Andrews and some freedom-eroding collective punishment against the general populace.

A gun saved lives today. It’s a shame that the law-abiding public did not have the choice to that same luxury afforded to Police.

When seconds count….