A van that was full with gas cylinders rammed an establishment of the Australian Christian Lobby which caused it to explode and caused destruction. The van was filled with gas cylinders which appeared to have been ignited by the driver.
The man riding the van got out of the burning vehicle riddled with serious burns and is in a critical condition. He walked himself to the nearest hospital where the police caught up to him. He was then questioned prior to the incident where they ruled out that the man's action "were not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated." The driver is currently in a state of coma.
ACT Deputy Chief Police Officer Mark Walters stated that the "police are conducting a thorough investigation and there is no threat to public safety," according to the Guardian.
ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton was quick to dismiss the police's ruling. He stated that the incident was too coincidental to not consider an attack without religious and political agenda. He claimed that the police were being 'prejudiced' with the situation and the factors leading to the attack "just don't add up."
"If this guy's sole aim was just to blow himself up, why did he do it parked adjacent underneath my office in the ACL carpark? This is a dimly lit part of Deakin. It's not on any main road. If this was some random thing you'd be down a paddock somewhere or out in the middle of a carpark - why here? Why at the ACL office with multiple gas cylinders loaded up in your van? It just doesn't make sense to me."
Shelton believed that their strong campaign against same sex marriage and the bullying of LGBT students at school lead to a violent way of expressing opposition.
"I'm very concerned when members of parliament, particularly in the extreme left, refer to us in the parliament as hate groups, as bigots ... there are people who are a bit unhinged out there, that sort of rhetoric doesn't help," he said, in an interview by the Australian.
"As a society we've got to have civil debate and we've got to stop the name calling and the slurs and mount an argument which there should be zero tolerance of violence and threats of violence in our country."
Justice Minister Michael Keenan assured the public of the ongoing investigation and that they will continue to work with ACL. "There's no indications it's a terrorist act. The police are obviously continuing their investigations. When they have a motivation, when they have something to update the Australian people about, they will do so," he said, according to the Telegraph.
