SYDNEY (Australia) : Six people were killed and several others were injured, including a nine-month old baby in a Sydney shopping mall mass stabbing on Saturday afternoon (local time), reported CNN.
The suspected attacker, according to the police was shot dead at the scene.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack was “beyond words and understanding.” As of now, eight additional people are being treated for injuries at hospitals in Sydney, following the barbarous attack.
Quoting the New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb, CNN reported that four women and a man died at the shopping mall, while a fifth woman later died at the hospital.
Albanese hailed the police officer who shot the suspect as a “hero,” and said, “there is no doubt that she saved lives through her action.”
When the violence started, the officer was there and shot the attacker when he raised his knife to harm her, the police said.
The police said that the suspect was a 40-year-old man who acted alone, however, they could not provide further details. The earlier indications suggested the attack was not terror-related.
Initial reports said at least four people were reported to be dead after a man entered a mall in Sydney’s eastern suburbs today and began randomly shooting and stabbing people, local media reported.
Chaos erupted around 4 pm (local time) with reports of multiple stabbing within the bustling shopping complex. Witnesses describe scenes of sheer terror as a man, reportedly armed with a knife, ran amok, leaving bystanders in a state of shock and confusion.
“We didn’t really know where to go. We tried to go back in the other building but there were people running down that direction,” recounted Hannah Bodrozic, who was shopping in Country Road at the time.
The sheer scale of the incident has prompted a massive law enforcement response, with officers from various commands converging on the scene to secure the area and launch a thorough investigation, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. (ANI)