Australia says no extremist motive in fatal hostel stabbing

SYDNEY, Australia — A Frenchman who allegedly stabbed a young British woman backpacker to death while saying “Allahu Akbar” in fact has no sign of radicalization, Australian police said Thursday.

Smail Ayad, 29, was expected to be charged with stabbing Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, multiple times late Tuesday at a backpacker’s hostel in Home Hill, a rural town in north Queensland state.

The attack also left a 30-year-old British man in critical condition, police said.

But despite authorities saying Wednesday that the Frenchman allegedly said “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) during the assault and again when arrested, police said there were no signs of radicalization.

“We are certainly not ruling anything out but what I can say at this stage there is absolutely no — and I repeat — there is absolutely no indication of any form of radicalization or any particular motive in relation to this matter,” ‎Detective Superintendent Ray Rohweder told a press conference.

Rohweder — who confirmed the names of the suspect and the victim — said one line of inquiry was whether Ayad had a romantic interest in Ayliffe-Chung, although he stressed that so far there was no indication of a “romantic connection” from her point of view.

The detective said the suspect appeared to have shown “some form of change of behaviour” and there was “some stuff that was a bit out of character” on Tuesday night, adding that Ayad may have taken cannabis.

Ayad was given a psychiatric assessment, but Rohweder declined to release the results.

He said Ayad was “extremely violent” with police on Wednesday night when he was being transferred from a hospital, where he had undergone a psychiatric assessment, to a police station, with one officer being bitten in the leg.

Investigators were still interviewing witnesses and Ayad could face a charge of murder, Rohweder said.

Ayad had traveled to Australia twice in the past year. He returned in March on a temporary visa and had been in Home Hill for about a month, police said.

State Police Minister Bill Byrne called for calm after anti-immigration firebrand Pauline Hanson, a newly elected senator, was reported as saying the incident “could well be the first Islamic terrorist attack in Queensland”.

“There will be those that seek to exploit this and I believe they will be unhelpful,” Byrne was quoted by the Brisbane Times as saying. “What is required here is cool, calm, thoughtful consideration.”

Canberra has been increasingly concerned about extremism and in particular about home-grown radicalization, keeping the terror threat alert level at high since September 2014.

Victim had contagious passion for life

Ayliffe-Chung had only arrived in Home Hill a few days before the attack. She had been planning on exploring Australia and hoped to be sponsored for a visa that would allow her to stay longer in the country she had fallen in love with, said her friend, Jamison Stead.

Stead, who met her in April when she was living in Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast, said she had a passion for life that was contagious.

“She was a beautiful girl who had her whole life ahead of her and we spoke of what the future may hold in store for her and what she wanted to do,” he said in an e-mail. “It’s sad knowing that she won’t be able to do those things.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41MIWt9kdGs

In an appearance on the BBC, Ayliffe-Chung’s stepfather tearfully read a statement on behalf of her mother, Rosie Ayliffe.

“Not only was she kind and funny, she was clever, sassy, with a sense of fun,” Stewart Cormack said. “Mia was full of the kind of open-minded compassion for life that you don’t see that often. It felt as though she was reminding us all of the beauty and possibilities we each have that we should live life to the full.”

In a statement, the British school Ayliffe-Chung previously attended described her as a joyous person who was well-liked by her friends and teachers.

“Mia was a bubbly student who was energetic, caring and who immersed herself in life, enriching the school environment she contributed to,” said Paul Lovatt, head of pastoral care at Anthony Gell School in the town of Wirksworth.

AP contributed to this report.