Attack in a shopping center in Sydney, Westfield Bondi Junction: six people died, stabbed. The attacker also died, killed by an officer on the spot. The local police confirmed this at a press conference.
“From the preliminary investigations it would appear that this person acted alone,” the authorities said, adding how at the moment there is no clarity on the motive“There is nothing that we are aware of at the scene that would indicate a motive or an ideology,” said Deputy Commissioner Anthony Cooked, who, when asked by a reporter whether police were ruling out terrorism, said: ” We are not ruling anything out.”
The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, expressed “shock and dismay” and confirmed what was reported by the New South Wales police, namely that the attacker “acted alone”, although the motive is not yet clear and no leads have yet been ruled out. “For all of us tonight, the shocking scenes at Bondi Junction are beyond words and beyond understanding,” the Labor prime minister commented.
Sydney Ambulance Service confirmed that 8 people were transported to hospital, reports the Australian television station ABC. There would also be a nine-month-old baby among the people attacked. The little boy was taken to hospital, writes the Guardian.
The incident occurred in the sprawling Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center complex, which was packed with Saturday afternoon shoppers. The shopping center was closed and police asked people to avoid the area. Eyewitnesses said panic broke out at the scene, with shoppers running for safety and police trying to secure the area. Several people took refuge in a supermarket, where they remained for about an hour. The sound of police sirens and helicopters filled the air. Security camera footage broadcast by local media showed a man running through the mall with a large knife and injured people lying on the floor.