Just before 4pm local time on Saturday, the police received several reports of a stabbing inside the popular shopping center Sydney“>Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney, Australia.
The center was evacuated and at 16.30 the police reported that the suspected perpetrator had been shot. The police have now confirmed that the man is dead.
– A police officer was in the area when the reports came in. She got to the perpetrator after explanations from witnesses. When she came towards him, he waved the knife and she skated, explains Anthony Cooke in the police during the press conference.
This is the case:
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- Six people have been confirmed dead after a man attacked a shopping center in Sydney, Australia
- Eight people have been sent to hospital with injuries. One of them is a small child of nine months.
- The perpetrator has been shot by the police. He is now dead.
- The police believe the man acted alone.
- They also believe that it is probably not a case of terrorism.
Six people have so far been confirmed dead. Five people died inside the shopping centre. The sixth died at the hospital, according to local police.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the sixth dead person is the mother of a nine-month-old baby. The baby is also said to have been injured in the attack and was taken to hospital.
The police: – Not an act of terrorism
The police believe the man was attacked alone and that there is no longer any threat to society. They also believe that it is probably not a case of terrorism.
– If it is the person we think it is, then I have no fear that he had an ideology. In other words; it is not an act of terrorism, says Karen Webb in the police.
The police believe the perpetrator is a 40-year-old man. He must have been known to the police from before.
The six dead are supposed to be five women and one man. Five died at the shopping centre, while the sixth died at the hospital.
Hans Torstein Lærum studies in Sydney and says the city usually feels very safe.
Photo: Hans Torstein Lærum
Nordmann at the shopping centre: – Panic
– I tried not to panic. There were many people around me who panicked and screamed and ran in all directions, says Hans Torstein Lærum.
The 24-year-old from Oslo is a student in Sydney and was at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre, when a man attacked with a knife inside the center on Saturday afternoon local time.
A total of six people have been confirmed murdered. In addition, the perpetrator was shot and killed by the police.
– It has been a rollercoaster of emotions. First confusion, then adrenaline rush, before it turned into shock. Now it just feels surreal, says Lærum, who is back in his apartment in the big city
Eyewitness: – A man ran around and stabbed
Videos on social media show what is supposed to be the perpetrator.
Dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and trainers, he walks into the shopping center with what looks like a knife in his hand.
In one video, another man is seen trying to stop the perpetrator on his way up an escalator using a large cone.
The Reuters news agency has spoken to several eyewitnesses who were at the shopping center when the attack took place.
– I saw a woman lying on the floor. I didn’t see the man properly, I ran. But it was madness, says one woman.
A man says he caught sight of the suspected perpetrator:
– He ran around and stabbed people. It seemed random.
Other witnesses say that panic broke out and that they heard shots. They add that the shots may be from the police.
Australian Prime Minister: – Tragic
The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was early on to confirm the death of X.
– I have been briefed by the AFP about the devastating events at Bondi Junction. Tragically, several injuries have been reported, and the first thoughts of all Australians go to the victims and their loved ones, he writes on X.
Pictures and videos from outside the shopping center show large forces with armed police. In addition, there are several ambulances.
The shopping center will be closed on Sunday, say police in New South Wales.
Published 13.04.2024, at 09.00 Updated 13.04.2024, at 15.13