SYDNEY, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Police in Western Australia (WA) have arrested a man after an apparent explosive device was thrown into a group of protesters in the state capital of Perth on Monday.
WA's Police Commissioner Col Blanch told reporters at a press conference on Monday that the device was thrown into the crowd at around 12:30 p.m. local time.
He said that a 31-year-old man alleged to have thrown the device was arrested and told police that it may contain explosives, triggering an immediate evacuation of the area.
Blanch said that subsequent investigations found the device contained ball bearings and screws wrapped around an unknown liquid in a container.
Police have been deployed to search the 31-year-old suspect's house in Perth's northern suburbs and are working to identify the liquid.
Blanch described the object found at the event as a "very rudimentary device," with no detonator found.
There were no injuries reported and police believe there is no ongoing threat to the public.
The incident occurred on Australia Day and targeted a protest calling for the date of the official national day to be changed.
The campaign to change the date is led by Indigenous Australians, many of whom mark the Jan. 26 anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the British First Fleet in Australia as a day of mourning.
Similar rallies held across Australia on Monday were attended by tens of thousands of people. ■
