Western Australian Police had previously failed to declare the attempted killing of many Invasion Day protestors in Boorloo (Perth) as a terrorist incident, but have finally declared that it 'potentially' could be a terrorist incident

WA Police finally admit terror threat from Boorloo bomb incident

The Socialist Bulletin Staff - 30/1/2026

Photo: By Matt Hrkac from Geelong, Australia - Invasion Day Rally - Melbourne 2020, CC BY 2.0

WESTERN Australian Police have finally admitted that the throwing of a bomb at an Invasion Day rally in Boorloo (Perth) over the long weekend, following days of refusing to acknowledge it as the 'potential' terrorist incident that it was.

On Invasion Day, a man whose identity has been suppressed by a court order threw a deadly homemade bomb filled with screws and ball bearings surrounded by an explosive liquid into a crowd of protestors, with the bomb falling at the feet of one protestor. The bomb, according to experts in the field, has the ability to kill and injure a large number of people, given the large number of people in the area, it would have likely become the largest terrorist incident in the nation's history. If the bomb successfully exploded, it is likely that the death toll would have eclipsed that of Bondi just over a month ago.

Fortunately, the bomb failed to go off, and the deadly weapon was quickly taken by a courageous protestor who handed the bomb to police, who quickly evacuated the area.

Despite this, Western Australian Police failed to identify the failed attack as a terrorist incident. This is in stark contrast to the previous Bondi attack in New South Wales, where the event was rightly labelled a terrorist attack within 24 hours. Finally, over 48 hours after the attack in Boorloo, the Western Australian Police declared that the attempted attack 'could be' a terrorist incident. The behaviour of WA Police and the Australian media class has been deplorable in relation to this incident.

The attack has not yet been formally declared a terrorist incident.

The Socialist Bulletin acknowledges that we write on stolen, unceded Indigenous land. We pay our respects to First Nations elders, past, present, and emerging.