The first details regarding the attacker and the victims have been released.
A widely shared video shows the moment a brave member of the public tried to fend off the man who stabbed several people in the Sydney shopping centre attack on Saturday afternoon (13 April).
The attack occurred in the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in the Australian city and left at least six victims dead and “more than several other people” injured.
Sky News Australia reports that the mother of a nine-month-old baby is among the dead and that her child was also stabbed during the incident and is undergoing surgery.
New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb, meanwhile, has said that four women and one man were killed in the shopping centre and that another woman died in hospital.
She also said that they believe the attacker to be a 40-year-old man. His identity has not been released as of yet.
At an earlier press conference, assistant commissioner of New South Wales Police Force Anthony Cooke said: “At about 3.10pm this afternoon, a male walked into Westfield Bandi Junction.
“He left the centre very shortly after and returned at about 3.20pm. As he moved through the centre, he engaged with about nine people. It is clear that during that engagement, he caused harm to those people we believe by stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying.”
He added: “Promptly, a single unit officer inspector of police was nearby, attended, went into the centre directed by a range of people.
“She confronted the offender who had moved by this stage to level five as she continued to walk quickly behind him to catch up with him.
“He turned, faced her, raised a knife. She discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased.”
In videos from the scene shared on social media, a female police officer can be seen administering CPR to a person.
The assistant commissioner said the officer’s actions saved “a range of people’s lives”.
Another widely shared video from the scene captures the moment when a brave member of the public tried to fend off the attacker through the use of a metal pole.
The attacker can be seen in the clip, which can be watched below, holding a type of blade.
BREAKING: Latest pictures show the suspect inside the shopping centre in Sydney holding a weapon.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 13, 2024
Police say he was later confronted by a lone female police officer and shot dead.https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/5jviWmFHWK
The assistant commissioner also told the press that it appears the perpetrator acted alone.
In regard the number of victims of the incident, he said in the first press conference after the incident: “I’m advised there are five victims who are now deceased as a result of the actions of this offender.
“There are more than several other people who have been conveyed to hospital. A number of these are in serious and/or critical condition at this stage.
“One of them is a small child.”
Main image via SkyNews/Twitter
Read more:
- Lone police officer who shot Sydney shopping centre attacker ‘saved people’s lives’
- Multiple people killed following stabbing spree in Sydney shopping centre
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