17-Year-Old Boy Who Allegedly Boarded Plane with Shotgun Charged with Multiple Offences

An Australian teenager has been charged with multiple offences after he allegedly boarded a commercial flight with a firearm on Thursday, March 6.

Victoria Police shared in a statement on Friday, March 7 that the 17-year-old had been charged with unlawfully taking control of an aircraft after the scary incident at Avalon Airport near Melbourne.

He was also charged with endangering the safe operation of an aircraft, endangering the safety of an aircraft, carrying dangerous goods on an aircraft and posing a threat to the safety of an aircraft, alongside further charges of possessing a firearm, a bomb hoax and traffic-related offenses. 

The charges come after the man reportedly carried a shotgun onto a Jetstar flight bound for Sydney carrying 160 passengers. 

“We had just boarded. He came on with two bags saying he needed to do maintenance,” passenger Daniel DeFino told Australian outlet 7News.

“That’s when the flight crew started to get nervous because there wasn’t anything planned. Then the pilot saw the shotgun, then leaped onto him. There was a guy, Barry, next to us, he got him in a headlock, and that’s when I started recording.” 

Footage from the aircraft shows a man in a neon yellow reflective vest being detained by passengers and crew members as they search his belt and body for more weapons. 

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Passenger Barry Clark, who had the suspect in a headlock, explained the situation from his vantage point to ABC Radio Melbourne. 

“He was dressed up as a worker and he got agitated and before we knew it there was a gun — shotgun appeared — and I was worried about there being shots so all I could do was get the gun out of the way, threw it down the stairs — try to — and then put him in a hold and throw him to the ground til the police come,” Clark said.

Victoria Police said Friday that the juvenile has been detained in custody since the incident and is expected to appear in child court at a later date. 

Superintendent Michael Reid previously told reporters, “No doubt this would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers.”

PEOPLE reached out to the Victoria Police for additional details on the situation, but they were unable to comment further.