'Obviously Targeted': Police Drop Bombshell Update on Canberra Defence Conference Scare

Law enforcement officers in the capital of Australia have published new information regarding a violent security incident that shook a major defence industry event, as the investigation is ongoing into what authorities have termed an attempt, which seems to be a deliberate attack on the facility.

Early Morning Disruption At Hyatt Hotel

The Hyatt Hotel, located in Canberra, where the annual ADM Congress, one of the major defence conferences attended by government and industry leaders, was being held, was thrown into a police operation on the morning of 18 February after police officers responded to a disturbance report.

Police Detective Inspector Dave Craft of the ACT Policing department first took calls at approximately 9 a.m. and reported that at the back of the hotel, two men were hurling rocks and a suspicious piece of equipment through doors and breaking windows.

One of the crime scenes was spotted and cordoned off, as reported by Detective Inspector Craft to the media. He refused to discuss what object in question was thrown but said it was not an explosive one.

An ACT Policing spokesperson also confirmed that there were no injuries reported, and there is a lack of any evidence of a threat to the safety of the population.

Bomb Squad Called After Suspicious Items Found

It got out of control around noon when officers found a number of unattended baggage in one of the conference rooms in the hotel. To be on the safe side, the officers isolated the area in an attempt to evacuate the participants from the room before introducing specialist bomb squad officers.

'Those bags were processed and cleared by our bomb staff and also police,' explained Detective Inspector Craft. Those who had the baggage were found, and afterward the conference commenced again.

Even though the police cleared the bags and found them to have no threat, they stressed that the discovery helped in the increased security response.

Police Say Incident 'Obviously Targeted'

'We believe that this was obviously targeted in some way, shape or form. Police don't have any [ongoing] concerns for the premises here at the hotel ... or for future planned protest activity, which may occur later this afternoon,' Detective Inspector Craft said in an important remark.

A number of responses by the police were observed following the incident, and over 10 police vehicles were on scene. The investigation is still ongoing regarding the identity and motive of the people involved.

According to the police, individuals of interest were spotted and captured on CCTV footage in the previous events that took place earlier that morning.

Bomb Squad and Counter‑Terrorism Oversight

The reaction has brought in specialisation; the ACT Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT), a collection of the AFP Counter Terrorism, ACT Policing, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), has taken charge of some parts of the examination.

Police have encouraged all with pertinent information to make a call to Crime Stoppers ACT and reference database P2425591.

Delegates Initially Fear Gunshots

The incident caused a panic among members of the Australian Defence Magazine (ADM) conference, with some thinking at first they heard gunshots when a series of items were hurled through a hotel window after one speech had finished.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy was present at the time to speak to the attendees, and several hundred attendees were evacuated in the main ballroom after AFP officers detected a suspicious package.

The incident occurred in between speeches by former defence minister Christopher Pyne and Navy Chief Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, and made the events of the morning disconcerting.