Police have charged a man who used a car to crash through the gates of a synagogue in Brisbane.
Authorities said the man was driving a Toyota Hilux utility when he crashed the gates of a property on Margaret Street in Brisbane’s CBD just after 7pm on Friday.
The driver fled from the spot before being arrested.
No one was injured in this incident.
The 32-year-old Sunnybank man is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Saturday. He has been charged with willful damage, aggravated blasphemy or hate crime, dangerous operation of a vehicle and drug possession offences.
Queensland Police Acting Supt, Michael Hogan, said the attack targeted a synagogue but was not treating it as an act of terrorism.
“The authorities’ special counter-terrorism unit has been involved in the investigation from the beginning, and I can confirm that this is not being treated as a terrorist incident,” he said.
“Police are considering the man’s mental health and intoxication as factors.”
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Hogan said the targeted attack on a Jewish place of worship and the charges were an aggravating factor.
“The synagogue was definitely a targeted attack,” he said.
“Video surveillance [shows] That is very clear [the driver] intended to cause some damage to the gates.”
No one was injured in the attack – CCTV footage released by police shows a man on the synagogue grounds jumping back as the gates were slammed – and police said they believe the attacker did not intend to enter the synagogue.
Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies vice-president, Libby Burke, said the state’s Jewish community was “deeply distressed”.
“All Jews in Queensland should be able to attend synagogue and live without fear,” she said.
“This attack is not just an attack on my community, it is an attack on all of us,” she said.
A community’s synagogue is a sacred place, “for prayer, reflection and community,” Burke said.
The Premier of Queensland, David Crisafulli, described the alleged attack as concerning and said Jewish Australians would be deeply distressed by the incident.
“I have spoken to Jewish leaders, as well as the police, and want to assure Queenslanders that we are taking this seriously,” he wrote on social media.
“It’s another sign of why we put strong laws before Parliament to protect all people where they worship.”
“We are going through the process and I fully expect them to be approved during the next session of Parliament.”
A study on the proposed law said multiple stakeholders were not consulted before drafting the bill.
The Federation of Islamic Councils, the Islamic Council of Queensland and the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland told the state’s parliamentary committee on justice, integrity and community safety that they had been bypassed.
Under the laws, the Queensland Attorney-General has the power to outlaw the phrases, which are punishable by two years in prison if uttered in public.
Police said their investigation into the Friday evening attack is ongoing.
