The 18-year-old suspect, who stabbed two police officers in Melbourne, Australia then got shot and killed, reportedly had issues with his parents prior to his death. His friend and former girlfriend said during an inquest proceeding that his family was putting a lot of pressure on him.
ABC News reported that terror suspect Numan Haider only "snapped" and hurt the two police officers last September 2014 at the Endeavour Hills police station because of the extreme pressure he was dealing with in his home. This was based on the testimony of his friend, Ljindim Sulejmani.
Sulejmani said he was with Haider during the hours prior to his death and attested that he was going through some tough times because of his parents. He claimed that his mother and father would hurt him because he would pray at the mosque twice a day.
"[The told him to] stop praying at the mosque, only extremists pray at the mosque," he added. "They [his parents] hate me because I pray and attend the mosque too much."
Sulejmani also disputed claims that his friend was part of the Islamic States saying he did not have similar views as them and that he is "fragile and harmless." He also described his friend as a calm and very collected person.
However, Haider's former girlfriend, Jinaali Vishni Surendran, corroborated some of Sulejmani's statements but she also sang a different tune. She claimed that she never met the suspect's family during the time they were dating. "The reason I was never introduced to Numan's family is because they would never have approved of me," she added.
She recalled that they parted ways because they both got busy with work. However, she claimed that Haider contacted him two months after and asked if they could meet.
Surendran said that it was during this time that she noticed something was off with her ex-boyfriend, who did not seem excited to see her.
"I assumed it was family problems, because they gave him a few hassles," she said. But Surendran said that when Haider saw some police officers, he pulled out a shahada flag from his pocket.
"I had not seen Numan with this flag before, but when he pulled it out I recognised it," she said. "The flag symbolises the fact that there is only one God and that Muhammad is his messenger."
