A gunshot wound can be incredibly fatal, especially to first responders that don’t wear vests or protection of some kind. The chance of dying from a gunshot to the torso can rise by as much as 3.4 times for officers without an armored vest. Making proper gear an important part of life for these individuals.
Thankfully, the police in Sydney, Australia had everything they needed on Monday, July 31, when they engaged in raids on five locations, seeking to find the individuals behind a terrorist plot to down a plane.
The properties were raided after four men were arrested over a plot to bring down a plane as part of a more complex terror plot.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that he had begun development of what he called a “major joint counterterrorism operation,” during a news conference on Saturday. After the events concerning the capturing and prevention of the plot Monday, it appears that those operations were successful.
So far, investigators into the plot have released very little information concerning the suspects or the alleged plot itself. The Federal Police Commissioner, Andrew Colvin, did state that it appeared to be an “Islamic-inspired terrorism” plot that involved the use of imported auimprovised explosives.
“At this time we don’t have a great deal of information on the specific attack, the location, date or time,” Colvin said. “However, we are investigating information indicating that the aviation industry was potentially a target.”
In the week following the raid, one of the men was released without charges, one was charged with weapons charges, and two were charged with terrorism-related crimes. According to officials, the plot was directed by the Islamic State, better known as ISIS within the United States.
“It should be noted that the presumption of innocence applies to these persons,” the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
Currently, the terrorism threat level in the country is rated at “probable.” This comes from the National Terrorism Threat Advisory System, which measures the likelihood of a terrorist act being done in a country. This system is measured on five levels, with “certain” being the highest.
The threat level was elevated to this status, which is in the middle of the scale, in September of 2014. Since then there have been four attacks by terrorists, and police have prevented around 12 plots. This is according to the Australian National Security Agencies.
Nearly all of these occurred in Sydney and Melbourne.
