Five killed after stabbing attack at Sydney mall, suspect shot dead

SYDNEY: Five people have died after a stabbing attack at a busy mall in Sydney's beachside suburb of Bondi on Saturday (Apr 13).

Emergency services were called to Westfield Bondi Junction just before 4pm local time.

The suspect has been shot dead by police. His motive was not immediately clear but Australian police said he is believed to have acted alone and there is no continuing threat.

Several people have been taken to hospital, authorities said, adding that a number of them are in serious or critical condition.

Australian media said the injured included a mother and her baby.

Security camera footage broadcast by local media showed a man running around the shopping centre with a large knife and injured people lying on the floor.

Police were seen trying to save victims’ lives across multiple stores at the sprawling complex.

Eyewitnesses said there was panic at the scene, with shoppers running to safety and police trying to secure the area.

Several people took shelter in a supermarket, where they remained for about an hour.

An eyewitness told ABC the attacker had been shot by a police officer.

"If she did not shoot him, he would have kept going, he was on the rampage," said the man, who did not give his name. 

New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke said the attacker walked into the mall at about 3.10pm, left and returned 10 minutes later at 3.20pm.

"As he moved through the centre, he engaged with about nine people," Cooke said at a press conference.

"It is clear that during that engagement he caused harm to those people, we believe, by stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying."

A police officer who was nearby responded to the incident.

"She confronted the offender, who had moved by this stage to level five as she continued to walk quickly behind him to catch up with him," Cooke said.

"He turned, faced her, raised a knife, she discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased."

When asked by a reporter if police were ruling out terrorism, Cooke said: "We're not ruling anything out."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he has been briefed on the incident.

"Tragically, multiple casualties have been reported and the first thoughts of all Australians are with those affected and their loved ones," he wrote on social media platform X.