The individual stabbed and killed six people before he was shot dead by police at a shopping center in Sydney, Australia, on April 13
Seven people are dead and others, including a 9-month-old baby, are left in critical condition after a man attacked shoppers with a knife at a mall in Sydney, Australia, on April 13.
The individual fatally stabbed six people and injured several others at Westfield Shopping Center in Bondi Junction in Sydney in the afternoon, New South Wales Police Force confirmed in a press release.
Emergency services responded to the scene of the incident around 3.30 p.m. local time, according to authorities, who also said that the attacker was shot dead at the scene.
“An officer attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command attended and was allegedly confronted by a man with a knife,” the statement said. “The man allegedly lunged at the officer, before he was fatally shot.”
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb later said in a news conference, per 7News Australia, that among the deceased in the attack are four women and one male, who all died at the shopping center. One woman also died later in hospital, Webb confirmed in the conference.
A nine-month-old baby is among those injured, Webb added. The infant was transported to the hospital for surgery. Eight others also injured were transported to hospitals around Sydney for their injuries, Webb said.
Speaking of the individual who carried out the attack, Webb said that authorities “became aware of who we believe the offender is” and they believe he is a “40-year-old man.” However, she added that authorities are “waiting to formally identify him.”
Webb also said that the man was acting alone and if he is the individual police believe him to be, she added: “We don’t have fears for that person holding an ideation, in other words, this is not a terrorism incident.”
Webb also said during the press conference that police have since closed the shopping area and it will remain closed on April 14 as an investigation is ongoing. She added that police are confident there is “no ongoing risk.”
Earlier on April 13, New South Wales Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke spoke to reporters and said, per The Sydney Morning Herald, that the attacker “caused harm” to those he attacked. “We believe by stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying,” he added.
Cooke also detailed that “a single unit officer” attended the scene and that as she caught up with the attacker in the shopping center, he “turned, faced her, raised a knife. She discharged the firearm and that person is now deceased.”
A man outside the mall during the incident described to 9News Sydney the moment a woman stabbed in the attack motioned for help. “The mum came over with the baby and threw it at me, with this hole in the baby, it looked pretty bad,” he told the outlet.
According to NBC News, CCTV footage from the attack showed the offender “running with a long knife” in the mall causing chaos among shoppers.
One witness coming home at the time of the attack told ABC News Australia he saw “a man in a green and yellow T-shirt” entering the mall and heard “people yelling and screaming and running.”
Police also detailed how the investigation into the incident would proceed in the April 13 release.
“A critical incident team comprised of State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad and the Central Metropolitan Region will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. The investigation will also be subject to an independent review,” they wrote.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote in response to the attack on X (formerly Twitter), “I have been briefed by the AFP on the devastating events at Bondi Junction. Tragically, multiple casualties have been reported and the first thoughts of all Australians are with those affected and their loved ones.”
