A man went on a knife attack at a popular Sydney, Australia, shopping mall on Saturday afternoon, killing at least six people and injuring at least two others, in one of the country’s deadliest acts of mass violence in recent decades.
Authorities say a man entered the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center armed with a knife and began stabbing people before a police officer shot him. Five people were injured at the scene and one later died in hospital, police said. A nine-month-old baby was among those hospitalized, some in critical condition.
Police officials did not formally identify the attacker Saturday but said they believed they knew who he was and that he acted alone. His motive was unclear, but they said the victim did not appear to have been targeted. They said the attack was not a “terrorist incident” if their belief in the attacker’s identity was confirmed.
The violence, which occurred over the weekend in a busy area popular with families, children and beachgoers, shocked Australians.Mass shootings are rare in the country strict gun lawsSaturday’s attack was Worst mass violence since 2017. In that incident, a Melbourne driver suffering from drug-induced psychosis deliberately rammed his car into pedestrians, killing six people.
For many shoppers, the commotion occurred first, before it was clear there was danger. When alarms sounded in the mall, some people hid in back rooms fearing for their lives. Others ran screaming, past the wounded victims on the floor. Parents hold children’s hands.
Gavin Lockhart, 37, said by phone that he was sitting in a coffee shop in the mall when he saw people running. He said at first he thought it was a celebrity sighting. Then, he said, he started hearing: “He’s got a knife! He’s got a knife!”
Michael Dunkley, 57, the owner of a coffee shop in the mall, said by phone that when the screaming started, he had only one thought: “I have to get my wife and employees to A safe place.” He led everyone to the staff room and then went out to look for the attacker.
Dunkley said he witnessed a police officer arrest the attacker on the fifth floor of the mall. He described the attacker as a thin man with a beard and short hair, wearing dark green pants and a green jersey.He said the officer told him to stop and put the knife down, but Then he rushed towards her with a knife. “He didn’t say anything,” Mr Dunkley said. “He seemed determined.”
Dunkley said the officer, a senior policewoman who was nearby, shot the attacker and performed CPR after he fell to the ground. Police said the man was shot.
Footage of the attack shared by local media captured the screams of a knife-wielding man charging toward shoppers and crowds.One person apparently tried Confronted with attacker on escalator. Other witnesses said They used nearby clothing to apply pressure to the wounds of the stabbed mother and nine-month-old baby.
Lifeguard Andrew Reid, 44, who was treating victims, was buying beds when he heard someone had been stabbed. Many stores were cordoned off and people were ordered to evacuate, he said by phone. But Mr Reid said he used his lifeguard training to try and help people after seeing them lying on the floor bleeding.
One of them suffered a back injury, he said, adding that they used clothes from a clothing store to stop the bleeding. He ran toward another woman lying unconscious nearby with a deep gash in her chest, he said.
“There was a lot of blood around her,” Mr Reid said. “Honestly, I don’t think she made it.”
Many evacuees praised the police response. Mr Lockhart said he saw police shoot the attacker and he sounded dazed. “The one positive I see is that the police probably saved my life,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also praised the courage of the police officers who confronted the attackers. “There is no doubt that she saved lives through her actions,” he told a news conference on Saturday, calling her a “hero.”
Australians would be shocked, he said. “This was a horrific act of violence, indiscriminately targeting innocent people shopping on an ordinary Saturday.”
Even more shocking is the fact that the violence occurred in Bondi Junction, east of Sydney, an area known as a gathering place for friends and family, where people want to shop or pass through on their way to the beach. Every weekend, shoppers stroll through the hundreds of stores in this sprawling mall.
The area is a transportation hub for residents and tourists visiting the sandy beaches of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. These include some of the city’s most iconic coastlines, such as Bondi Beach.
“This shouldn’t happen in this country,” said Mr Dunkley, the coffee shop owner. “People come here because it’s safe.”
