Article & Journal Resources

Posted Sat Dec 8, 2007 5:18pm AEDT


Los Angeles police say they spent over $100,000 responding to an online threat on a shopping centre which was traced to a Melbourne computer.

LA police alerted Victorian police to a message posted on a website, which said there would be a shooting attack at the Grove shopping complex.

A 20-year-old man from Frankston was detained and questioned yesterday, and has been released without charge, with investigations still continuing.

Deputy chief Michael Downing from the LAPD says the message was posted soon after after eight people were shot dead in a mall in Nebraska.

"We pulled out all the stops," he said.

"We deployed nearly 100 officers in high visibility uniform assignments and plain clothes assignments.

"All the other malls around - they were on a heightened alert as well."

"Until which time we were absolutely sure it was this individual who had no operational capability, and had never been to the United States, that was it.

"We expended approximately a little bit over $100,000 on this case in the past 30 hours or so."