Abdul Numan Haider once connected with Islamic group Al-Furqan
The teenager shot dead after stabbing two police officers outside a Melbourne police station was once associated with the radical Islamic group called Al-Furqan.
Police have named the attacker as 18-year-old Abdul Numan Haider, an Australian citizen from Narre Warren in Melbourne's south-east. His family had come to Australia from Afghanistan.
It is understood Haider had recently moved away from Al-Furqan.
The Al-Furqan Islamic Centre in Springvale hosts a religious instruction school, along with lectures and discussions about Islam.
In September 2012, Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers targeted the centre and raided 12 properties connected with members of Al-Furqan.
They were interested in a group of men aged between 22 and 40 in Melbourne's south-east, in suburbs including Springvale South, Narre Warren, Hallam and Ormond.
At the time Melbourne's mainstream Islamic organisations considered some of those associated with the Al-Furqan centre as fringe dwellers who courted controversial views.
Their leader was a Bosnian-Australian man called Sheikh Harun or Abu Talha who once extolled the virtues of jihad, or holy war.
In one of several videos uploaded to YouTube in 2012, he condemned Muslims who considered working for ASIO, the Army or police.
"I hope that none here thinking it is allowed to be soldier in Australian Army without losing your religion and out of Islam - American army, French army, British army, any army that belongs to the country that by origin is kafir (non-Muslim) country, there is no doubt, " Talha said.
"So I hope none here has any doubt. And I said army, then police, ASIO, AFP - all that nullify the religion of the person. Because you clear. You know that is a kafir system."
Guns, computers and a memory stick containing what police described as violent extremist materials were seized during the raids.
A 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with possessing and collecting material in connection with the preparation of a terrorist act. His trial is due to start in October.
Monash University terrorism expert Greg Barton said since the 2012 raids, the group had been fairly quiet.
"The fact that they've been quiet for two years suggests that either they've changed their tune or they've just decided to keep a low profile," he said.
"The fact that the police were at pains ... to say they believe he was acting alone suggests they didn't see a group pattern here."
Islamic Council of Victoria secretary Ghaith Krayem said he had spoken with the group following the incident on Tuesday night.
"They are as distressed as anybody in the community about what occurred," he said.
"My understanding is that a young man hasn't been with them for quite some time, so they had no recent contact with him."
