(Age) A man who, with two friends, planned to buy an assault rifle to gun down people in Melbourne lacked the fanaticism of other terror plotters and is now “ashamed” of his actions, his lawyer has told a court.
Hanifi Halis was 21 when he and his friends, brothers Ertunc and Samed Eriklioglu, conspired together in November 2018 and began preparations to launch a terror attack in the name of radical Islam.
The County Court has heard the trio drew inspiration from the Bourke Street terror attack when Hassan Khalif Shire Ali stabbed three men, killing restaurateur Sisto Malaspina and injuring two others. Shire Ali was fatally shot by police.
