Witnesses in a Sydney shopping mall saw the attacker pull out a knife and rush toward the crowd as people ran screaming.
An anonymous witness said she was about to enter the Coles store at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center, Sydney, on April 13 when she saw a man pull out a knife. “I immediately ran away,” the person said, adding that she heard gunshots afterward.
Police blockaded outside Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in Sydney on April 13. Image: AFP
Ellie Williams, 21 years old, had just finished eating lunch with her friends on the top floor of the food court at 3:40 p.m. (12:40 p.m. Hanoi time) when she saw people running away screaming.
“Everyone was confused. They told us there was someone stabbing people with knives downstairs,” she said. “Everyone was hiding in the store. We looked down and saw a guy in a hoodie chasing people with a knife.”
“I heard screaming as I was about to go down the escalator,” Williams said. As she left through the emergency exit, she heard three gunshots ring out. There were no police in the center, and the alarm did not sound when the incident happened.
Australian police controlled the suspect in the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center. Image: News.com.au
Hannah Bodrozic and Guy Johnston were shopping in Country Road when they saw a group of about 20 young people fleeing down the escalator. They didn’t understand what was going on until someone shouted: “Someone stabbed a knife!”
Things started to get chaotic. “We didn’t know where to go. We tried to go back to another area but there were people running down that direction,” Bodrozic said.
The two people stood there confused. The surrounding shops began to close their shutters and people ran away. “We heard three gunshots and people started screaming,” she said.
About 100 people ran out through the emergency exit. “I never thought something like this would happen in Sydney,” Johnston said.
Roi Huberman, a sound engineer, was in a store when he heard gunshots.
“We suddenly heard one or two gunshots and didn’t know what to do,” he said. “Then someone in the store told us to go back inside and lock the door. She let us go around the back and out of the mall.”
Instructions for emergency evacuation in Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center on April 13. Image: X/Markhudson
At least 5 people died in the attack on the afternoon of April 13 at Westfield Bondi Junction. A police source said “many people” were in critical condition. Police shot a male suspect and confirmed he was dead.
Videos and photos on social media showed at least seven ambulances and six police cars outside the mall. The area is cordoned off, people are asked to stay away from the scene.