Six people, including five women and a man have been fatally stabbed at a busy Sydney mall before the suspect was shot and killed by the police. All but one of them died at the scene.
Officers were alerted to the Westfield Bondi Junction shortly after 3 pm local time as the incident happened.
Several people including a child are also injured in the attack.
The suspect – who police said acted alone, stabbed multiple patrons in a mall located in the city’s suburbs before an officer shot him after he targeted her with a knife.
New South Wales Police’s Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said that “he was content there was no continuing threat” and that while investigations will be “lengthy and precise, ” police are unaware of any motive or ideology behind the attack.
The suspect’s identity has not been revealed. The lone suspect attacked about nine people, including a nine-month-old baby, who is in hospital with “a pediatric stab wound”, a spokesperson for New South Wales Ambulance told journalists.
While paramedics treated a few victims at the scene, others were transported to hospitals across Sydney. “A number of those are in serious and or critical conditions at this stage,” the police commissioner said.
Videos shared on social media show shoppers running frantically around the mall as police helicopters hovered.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror and pandemonium as the tragic incident unfolded.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese, has praised the police officer who confronted and killed the attacker as a hero. “She is certainly a hero. There is no doubt that she saved lives through her action,” says Albanese. He added “For all of us tonight, the devastating scenes of Bondi Junction are beyond words or understanding,”