Australian Police investigate the fire at a synagogue near Melbourne as a “terrorist” act

MADRID Dec. 9 () –

The Australian Police have declared this Monday that they are looking for three people suspected of having started the fire last Friday against a synagogue near Melbourne, in the southeast of Australia, an act that they are investigating as “terrorist.”

The Chief of Police of the state of Victoria, Shane Patton, has confirmed in a press conference that he has “three suspects whom (they are) pursuing” for the fire that occurred at the Adass Israel Jewish temple in the municipality of Ripponlea, an event classified as “deliberate” after some witnesses claimed to have seen two masked people throw fuel at the building before setting it on fire.

The deputy prime minister of the aforementioned state, Jacinta Allan, has announced that the fire, which she has described as an “evil and anti-Semitic attack”, is being treated as a “terrorist attack”, a declaration that allows “additional resources” to be diverted to the investigation.

The case has been transferred to the Police’s anti-terrorist unit, which is collaborating with the Federal Police and the country’s Intelligence services.

The fire took place in the early hours of last Friday, injuring one person and requiring 17 devices and 60 members of the fire department to control the flames.