Six people have been killed and several others injured, including a child, in a mass stabbing at a busy shopping center in Sydney, Australian police said.
Police were called to Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon local time following reports of multiple people stabbed.
Five people died at the scene and another died later from stab wounds at the hospital, a New South Wales police spokesperson confirmed to CNN.
The suspect – who police said acted alone – was shot dead at the scene by a lone officer.
New South Wales Police’s Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said a senior police inspector was nearby when the attack unfolded.
She arrived on the scene first and was alone when she engaged with the attacker. She shot the offender when he raised a knife at her.
“She discharged her firearm, and that person is now deceased,” Cooke said.
The attack sparked panic inside the mall. The motive was not immediately clear.
Mass casualty events are rare in Australia.
The officer was also seen in videos on social media administering CPR to those who had been injured.
The suspect encountered nine people after he entered the mall at 3:10 pm local time, according to police. He left and reentered the mall at 3:20 pm before carrying out his attack.
No information has been given as to the perpetrator’s identity or a possible motive but Cooke said they were “not ruling anything out.”
After warning people to stay away from the area police say the incident is now over.
Eight patients, including one child, have been transported to hospitals across Sydney, NSW Ambulance service confirmed to CNN. They would not say if the injured people were men or women or what their current conditions were.
‘Pandemonium’
Videos shared on social media show shoppers running from multiple exits of the shopping center, while police helicopters can be heard overwhelmed
CNN’s Australian affiliate, 9 News Sydney, spoke to an eyewitness who said people were running through the shopping center and falling over each other, describing the situation as “pandemonium.”
Channel 9 was told that people started running and shouting: “Do not go down, there has been a stabbing, there has been a stabbing.”
Two male eyewitnesses told 9 News they saw a baby and mother stabbed. “The baby got stabbed and the mum got stabbed.”
“We were holding the baby and trying to compress the baby. Same with the mother, trying to compress the blood from stopping.”
The news outlet also showed live video of people being put into ambulances and treated at the scene.
In a televised address, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albenese said the attack was “beyond words or understanding.”
He continued: “Today Bondi Junction was the scene of shocking violence. But it was also witness to the humanity and the heroism of our fellow Australians.
“Our brave police, our first responders, and of course everyday people who could never have imagined they would face such a moment.”
Mass casualty events are rare in Australia. At least four people were killed and one injured in a mass shooting in Darwin, northern Australia in 2019.
April 1996 saw a mass shooting which became known as the Port Arthur massacre – the deadliest in Australia’s modern history – when 35 people were killed in the tourist town in the state of Tasmania.
