Bondi Westfield stabbing suspect was lone attacker wearing Australian rugby league jersey, with the male suspect killing six and injuring another eight before a female police officer took him down.
A lone attacker wearing an Australian rugby league jersey went on a stabbing spree at Sydney’s Bondi Junction, Westfield, Saturday afternoon, stabbing six shoppers dead and injuring another eight, including a mother and her baby. Follow up reports told of the mother dying from her wounds, bringing an initial 5 fatalities to now six.
Video captured the shocking attack which took place at the packed shopping mall as unsuspecting shoppers ran for their lives as a solitary male suspect began to chase after his victims.
Addressing the media, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said that he was satisfied that the mass stabbing suspect had acted alone.
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Sydney, Australia – Westfield Bondi Junction
– "Not terrorism"
– Unnamed suspect "known to law enforcement" (40M)
– Russian man fought 'non-terrorist' 👍
– Lone police officer Amy Scott shot suspect 👏https://t.co/NNRPelaNEN— Brendan (@BrendanMcInnis) April 13, 2024
Male suspect acted alone, no known motive or ideology
‘From preliminary inquiries it would appear that this person has acted alone,’ Cooke told the media on Saturday night, noting that enquiries were new and police were still attempting to identify the offender.
‘I do not have information in relation to the offender. I do not know at this stage who he is.’
Cooke added that there was nothing on the scene to indicate any motive or any ideology, but said police were not ruling out terrorism.
According to Cooke, the un-identified male suspect entered the shopping centre just after 3pm, left shortly thereafter, then returned about 10 minutes later and ‘engaged with about nine people’.
A single female police officer who was nearby attended the scene and ‘immediately’ engaged with the offender, Cooke said, confronting him on level 5 from behind.
Cooke said the man turned to the officer, raised a knife before she ‘discharged a firearm’, killing him.
That officer’s actions saved a number of people’s lives, he added.
40 year old Bondi Westfield stabbing suspect was strung out on drugs
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This woman is a Shero. Police Inspector Amy Scott bravely ran into the fray at the Westfield Bondi Junction mall, with no regard for her own safety, to take down the suspect. She deserves all the respect.
— Ravi Karkara (@ravikarkara) April 13, 2024
Shoppers scrambled and took shelter
Macabre video shared on X showed the female police officer leaning over the suspect’s body as they lay on the ground of the mall as blood poured along the ground from the male.
‘Our hearts go out to all of [the victims], as they do to anyone touched by this terrible incident,’ Cooke said, later adding that he had never seen anything like this incident.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of panic, with shoppers scrambling to safety and police trying to secure the area.
Several people took shelter in shops as they tried to protect themselves and their families.
As the scene played out, the sound of police sirens and helicopters filled the air.
The mall has been locked down and police have urged people to avoid the area.
Mass casualty events are rare in Australia. At least four people were killed and one injured in a mass shooting in Darwin, northern Australia in 2019.
April 1996 saw a mass shooting which became known as the Port Arthur massacre – the deadliest in Australia’s modern history – when 35 people were killed in the tourist town in the state of Tasmania.
