WA : Police hunt attacker who firebombed station with ute
By Warwick Stanley09 Dec 2008 1:37 PM
PERTH, Dec 9 AAP - Perth police are hunting for an attacker who backed a ute up to a police station and set a 220-litre fuel tank on fire, gutting the reception area and adjoining offices.
Police say it was extremely lucky that no one was killed or injured in the attack about 10.30pm (WDT) on Monday.
About a dozen officers were on duty at the 24-hour Joondalup Station, in Perth's north, when the Holden Rodeo utility was reversed through bollards to the front doors.
The attacker then set alight the fuel tank in the tray of the ute, suspected to be a stolen vehicle.
"It could have ended in the loss of life if people were in that vicinity (of the reception area)," Assistant Commissioner Dominic Spaltari said.
"Luckily there weren't and we need to be truly thankful for that."
Mr Spaltari said none of the officers on duty had seen the attacker, as they were working in a different part of the building.
He said police were following a number of leads, but would not say if officers had CCTV footage of the incident.
"This is of great concern to us," he said.
"It is too early to talk about the intent of the offender at the time or the circumstances by which the vehicle was ignited.
"We have committed a large number of resources to bring this matter to finality," Mr Spaltari said, adding: "There are a number of people we are looking at."
