Melbourne police officer had no choice but to kill Numan Haider, coroner finds

Numan Haider's friends used to joke that he wouldn't be alive for ghis final exams.

A police officer had no choice but to shoot dead a radicalised Melbourne teenager who launched a stabbing attack on another officer, a coroner has found.

Numan Haider, 18, died instantly when shot in the head on September 23, 2014 after stabbing two counter-terrorism officers who had arranged to meet him outside Endeavour Hills police station.

"There was no time or opportunity for the officers to use a lower force to prevent further injuries," Victorian coroner John Olle said in his findings on Monday.

There were no adverse findings against ASIO, Victoria Police, or Australian Federal Police among Mr Olle's comment.

A Victoria Police officer and an AFP officer had arranged to meet Haider outside the suburban police station to assess his attitude and establish whether he was a threat to national security.

About 7.30pm Haider rang one of the officers to say he was parked outside and they came out to meet him.

Haider's shooting caused outrage among some groups at the time and sparked debate on social media, including this emotional Facebook post.

Moments after shaking their hands, he produced a knife and stabbed them. One officer got away and saw Haider crouched over his colleague, who was bleeding and unable to reach his weapon.

The nearby officer fired one shot, killing Haider instantly. Mr Olle said the officers were placed in an "invidious position". "Given the velocity and speed of the attack, support officers would have unlikely altered the outcome," he said.

The whole incident lasted no longer than a minute.

Haider's family was not in the Victorian Coroners Court on Monday to hear the findings.
The family is overseas, the court was told.

Mr Olle said Haider had become radicalised in the months before his death and was estranged from his family.

Haider, 18, was shot dead after stabbing two police officers.

He had made comments to friends that he did not believe he would be alive by school exam time.

But authorities considered him to be a low threat of launching a knife attack. Haider stabbed the officers days after Islamic State issued a fatwa calling on its supporters to kill Australians.

The teenager was also upset by recent, widely publicised anti-terror raids in Sydney and Queensland and had made comments about AFP and ASIO officers being "dogs".

- news.com.au