Seven people have died in a stabbing attack at Bondi Junction Westfield, a six-level shopping centre in Sydney’s east, as well as the attacker who was shot dead by police.
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Police say a small child is among “more than several people” injured after the knife attack shortly after 3pm on Saturday. Some have critical or serious injuries.
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Police were called to the popular shopping centre at 3:30pm, following reports multiple people had been stabbed. Hundreds of people were hiding inside shops and storerooms, as a man wielding what witnesses described as a “big blade” attacked shoppers.
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A lone police officer who was nearby tracked him through the centre before shooting him dead when he turned and raised his knife at her.
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The attacker has not yet been identified, and a motive for the attack has not yet been established. Police believe he acted alone and that there is no continuing active threat.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has praised the police officer who confronted and shot the attacker, saying “she is certainly a hero. There is no doubt that she saved lives through her action.”
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A mother and her baby has been reported as being among those treated for stab wounds.
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A motive for the attack has not yet been established. With the prime minister and the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Reece Kershaw, saying it was “too early to determine a motive” and warning it would be “unhelpful to speculate” at this stage.
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Police say there are “not ruling out” that the attack could be a terrorist incident, but say there’s “nothing that we are aware of at the scene that would indicate any motive or any ideology”.
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The centre remains closed, and a crime scene has been established.