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Family dispute caused "car bomb" attack on Aussie police station

Xinhua, July 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

A failed attack on an Australian police station by an elderly man using an improvised car bomb was resultant from a family dispute, and not terrorism, authorities confirmed on Friday.

Peter Zhurawhel, 61, after setting himself and his car filled with gas cylinders alight on Thursday night, crashed his car into the Merrylands police station's car park barrier, before being arrested and transferred to hospital in a serious condition.

New South Wales (NSW) state police assistant commissioner Denis Clifford told reporters outside the Merrylands police station on Friday "there is a matter before the court in relation to a person in his family", dismissing ongoing theories the attack was terror related.

Zhurawhel was due to face a Sydney court related to an alleged domestic dispute with a family member, believed to be his brother.

Australia, a staunch ally of the United State's war against terrorism in Iraq and Syria has been on heightened alert for homegrown terrorists since 2014, with the Merrylands station in particular subject to multiple threats.

Given the heightened atmosphere, NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione praised the actions of his officers, particularly a young policewoman who was among the first to run out to the car.

"She is the epitome of what we could say is a really good cop," Scipione told reporters outside the station on Friday.

CCTV footage showed the car arriving into the station's driveway before being set alight from the inside. The footage then shows officers running towards the burning car to save Zhurawhel before it rammed into the barrier.

"The officers are coping very well considering what they've experienced," Scipione said.

"A lot of people would run away from that situation - they ran towards it."

In light of the situation and the improvised 'car bomb' attack, Scipione said security would be reviewed at all police stations despite already being extremely high. Endit