Large police forces arrived at the Westfield shopping center in Sydney when a stabbing was reported. Hundreds of people were evacuated. Photo: Rick Rycroft / AP / NTB
Of NTB | 13.04.2024 10:42:59
Crime and justice: Australian police say the perpetrator has been shot dead. The police searched the shopping center for several perpetrators, but have concluded that there was only one.
The police say at a press conference that they do not rule out that the attack is terrorism.
The Sydney Morning Herald previously wrote that at least six people were dead and others critically injured after shooting and stabbing at the shopping center on Saturday afternoon local time. Hundreds of people were evacuated.
A woman tells TT that she saw a man in his 30s and 40s with a hunting knife, and that she and others locked themselves in a shop. The man is said to have stabbed people on several of the shopping centre’s floors.
Another witness says that he saw a policewoman shoot the perpetrator, who was armed with a large knife.
Other witnesses say panic broke out and that they heard shots, but the shots may have been from the police. Store employees dragged people into the stores and closed the doors.
According to The Guardian, a man told 9 News that people at the shopping center tried to help a woman and her infant, who had been stabbed.
Police were notified of the incident in the busy Westfield shopping center at Bondi Junction just before 4pm local time.
Ambulance personnel say that eight people have been taken to hospital, including one child.
Images on social media show people pouring out of the mall, and police cars and ambulances arriving. The shopping center was closed down by the police, but many have since been let out.
(© NTB)