Panic in the Westfield shopping center in Sydney: a man armed with a knife attacked those present, killing five people and injuring eight others, several seriously. Among those who were taken to hospital were a mother and a small child. The police intervened and killed the attacker. At the moment the police “have no information” about him but “from the initial investigations it would appear that he acted alone”, said Deputy Commissioner Anthony Cooke at a press conference, underlining that “we continue to try to identify the perpetrator of the crime”. As for the motive, “I don’t rule out anything”, underlined Cooke, when asked about a possible terrorist lead.
The alarm went off in the early afternoon, he reported: at 3.20pm local time the man entered the shopping center and began attacking people. A police inspector who was nearby intervened and chased him up to the fifth floor of the building. He turned, raised the knife and she shot him, killing him.
Tactical teams also intervened on site, there was talk of a second potential attacker but the news was denied. The panicked crowd was evacuated while ambulances took away the injured. Five confirmed dead, in addition to the attacker. Images circulating on social media show the killer, dressed in shorts and a sports shirt, moving inside the building brandishing a long knife. Another video shows a man trying to block him with a stake on the escalators, people running away and injured people on the ground in a bloodbath.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was informed of the facts and in an impromptu press conference he said he was “shocked”, paying tribute to the police officer and civilians who tried to block the attacker. The scenes coming from the shopping center are “beyond words or understanding”, “it is truly shocking that this happens in a country like ours, where people should be able to go shopping on a Saturday afternoon without thinking about the risks involved entails,” he said, stressing that such a “horrible act of violence” has no place in a “peace-loving” nation like Australia.
Condolences were also expressed by the Prime Minister of New South Wales, Chris Minns, who said he was “horrified” by the incident and thanked “the police, emergency services, first responders and the community for the courage shown by in the face of this shocking incident.” A message to the families of the victims was also sent by the opposition leader Peter Dutton, who wanted to underline how “in the horror of this afternoon there was also heroism”, citing the officers and rescuers who intervened, “in particular , the courage of a female officer who neutralized the attacker.”