Seven people are dead and others are in serious or critical condition after a stabbing rampage at a mall in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, according to police. The attacker, who was shot by a lone officer, was among the dead, and a baby among those stabbed.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke told a news conference that the attacker walked into the Westfield Bondi Junction mall at about 3:20 p.m. local time (1:20 a.m. ET) where he “caused harm” to about nine people “stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying.” The weapon “was most likely a knife,” he said. A spokesperson for New South Wales Ambulance told NBC News that a 9-month-old baby was “transported to Sydney Children’s Hospital with a pediatric stab wound.” Cooke said that an inspector near the scene was guided to the offender’s location by members of the public. As she pursued him from behind, Cooke said the offender turned and the officer shot him.
“She took the action, saving a range of people’s lives,” he added.
Speaking at the same news conference, NSW Ambulance Assistant Commissioner Brent Armitage said two other people had been transported to hospitals across Sydney. Their condition was not known.
Surveillance video showed a man running through the mall holding a long knife. Reports from local media described chaos, as some shoppers fled and others attempted to stop the man. Some shops reportedly pulled down their shutters, sequestering some people inside in order to keep them safe.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall.
In a live interview with 9News Sydney, the local broadcaster, a man outside the mall said he helped a baby after a woman was stabbed. “The mum came over with the baby and threw it at me, with this hole in the baby, it looked pretty bad,” he said.
Roi Huberman, a sound engineer at ABC TV in Australia, told the network that he sheltered in a store during the incident.
He said the offender’s motives were not clear, but he acted alone and that there was no continuing threat.“Suddenly we heard a shot or maybe two shots and we didn’t know what to do,” he said. “Then the very capable person in the store took us to the back where it can be locked.” She then locked the store and led them out through the back entrance.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack “a horrific act of violence that indiscriminately targeted innocent people.”
In a news conference, he said the nation “offers our deepest condolences and sympathies to all those who are grieving for someone they have lost. And we send our strength to those who have been injured.”
King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla “were utterly shocked and horrified to hear of the tragic stabbing incident in Bondi.”
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who have been so brutally killed during such a senseless attack,” he said in a statement. “While details of these shocking circumstances are still emerging, our thoughts are also with those who were involved in the response, and we give thanks for the bravery of the first responders and emergency services.” Source
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