Failed fuse only reason why homemade bomb didn’t go off at Perth Invasion Day rally

A dodgy fuse on a homemade bomb filled with nails and screws was the only reason it didn’t explode in a crowd of hundreds of people in Perth, Western Australia’s Police Commissioner has alleged.

The Invasion Day rally bomb scare continues to be investigated as a “potential terrorist attack” with the explosive triggering a complete evacuation at Forrest Place about 12.30pm on Monday.

A 31-year-old man from Warwick was charged after CCTV captured him allegedly throwing a homemade bomb into a 2500-strong crowd of Indigenous people and allies, including children, as speeches were being made.

WA Police commissioner Col Blanch said the alleged offender had tried to light the homemade bomb using a wick or a cord.

“It didn’t ignite or it fell out, one of those two things happened, and it didn’t explode,” Blanch said on ABC Radio Perth.

Blanch described the “fragment bomb” as a glass container filled with a chemical liquid, and wrapped in screws, nails and ball bearings, based on findings from preliminary analysis by bomb experts.

Full chemical analysis is still ongoing, but he said the bomb had been deemed “viable”.

Were the chemicals inside the bomb lit successfully, Blanch said it could have killed or seriously injured a number of people.

Chemicals and bomb-making materials were allegedly seized from the Warwick man’s home.

He remains before the courts, facing one count of unlawful act or omission with intent to harm (endangering life, health or safety of any person), and making or possession of explosives under suspicious circumstances.

While the WA Police, the AFP and ASIO are investigating the matter as a “potential terrorism attack”, no terrorism charges have been laid against the man.

“Further charges have not been ruled out,” the AFP said.

Blanch previously spoke about the incident being investigated as an act of terrorism.

“To be an act of terrorism, it requires one of three things, either political motivation, a religious motivation, or some type of ideology and advancing that cause,” he said.

“Until we understand the motivation through downloading devices, interviewing the male, or finding other materials we can’t make that determination.”

Amnesty International Australia Indigenous Rights Campaigner Kacey Teerman called the alleged crime “a deliberate attack on First Nations people”.

“It is a miracle the device didn’t explode,” she said.