

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A teenage boy was charged Friday with “endangering” a commercial flight in Australia after trying to sneak on board with a shotgun and ammunition, police said.
The 17-year-old was overpowered by passengers and pinned to the floor of the plane after trying to board the Jetstar flight near Melbourne on Thursday afternoon, Victoria Police said.
Police alleged he crept through a hole in the security fence surrounding Avalon airport, some 60 kilometers southwest of Melbourne city.
He was charged Friday with “endangering safety of (an) aircraft,” “unlawfully taking control of an aircraft,” firearm possession and carrying out a “bomb hoax,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
None of the approximately 160 passengers on board the flight to Sydney were injured, and police took the boy into custody.
They later found “two bags and a vehicle” belonging to him.
“As he approached the plane, he’s mounted or climbed the front stairs to the front of the plane,” police superintendent Michael Reid told reporters on Thursday evening.
“At that point, passengers have identified the male was carrying a firearm. The male was overpowered by three of the passengers, at least.”
Police were in contact with counter-terrorism investigators but it was too early to establish a motive, Reid said.