Six stabbed to death, killer gunned down by police officer in horrific Bondi Junction attack
Six people have been stabbed to death including the mother of an infant girl who was also attacked at Bondi Junction Westfield. The perpetrator was shot and killed by a female police officer. It is believed he was a 40-year-old known to police.
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As thousands of families strolled through Westfield Bondi Junction on the first weekend of the school holidays, little did they know a mass killer was walking among them.
One of the biggest and busiest Westfield centres in Sydney, its many flagship stores attract shoppers from far beyond the eastern suburbs with Saturday being among the biggest days of trade.
But at about 3.20pm, the casual atmosphere of a suburban shopping centre would soon turn to terror as a lone 40-year-old man wearing a Kangaroos ARL jersey and wielding a 30cm blade embarked on a stabbing rampage that would kill six innocent people, five of whom were women.
Among those stabbed was a 38-year-old mother and her nine-month baby girl, whom she would hand to two strangers, brothers who worked to stem the bleeding. The mother would later die from her injuries.
It is understood the baby is in stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery.
At least eight shoppers would end up in serious or critical condition in hospital from stab wounds, before a lone female police officer confronting the offender would fire a single fatal bullet at about 4pm as he ignored her warning to drop his knife.
The question police and the community are grappling with was ‘why?’.
On Saturday night Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the perpetrator was believed to be a 40-year-old man but had yet to be formally identified. He was known to law enforcement, Commissioner Webb said.
“Let me assure you that we are confident that there is no ongoing risk and we are dealing with one person who is now deceased,” Ms Webb said.
“The investigation will be ongoing for many, many days but there are elements that we understand at this point in time that don’t indicate that (it was a terrorist attack), but as we move into the investigation, and background this person, his home, vehicle, associates, we will only know at that time.”
Ms Webb praised the police officer who fired the shot, saying she had shown “enormous courage and bravery”.
The shopping centre would remain a crime scene for the next few days, she said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns is returning from a family holiday in Japan on Sunday after being briefed on the rampage.
“I am horrified to hear about the events at Bondi Junction this afternoon,” Mr Minns said in a statement.
“I am making immediate arrangements to return to Sydney.
“I want to thank NSW Police, emergency services and first responders and the community for their bravery in the face of this shocking incident.”
Acting NSW Premier Penny Sharpe has described Saturday’s mass stabbing attack at Bondi as “beyond distressing” and vowed as much information as possible would be shared with the public.
Speaking outside Waverley Police Station on Saturday night, Ms Sharpe said she was “personally distressed” by the incident, and noted there were “more difficult days ahead” for those directly impacted by the attack, as well as the wider community.
“Today, New South Wales has experienced a distressing and horrific crime right here in one of the most ordinary of places, innocent people. Have been attacked at the local shopping centre,” she said.
“People enjoying the first day of the school holidays with their kids, people doing their ordinary shopping and their clothes shopping, and the workers who serve all of them. They have witnessed something horrific.
“But even worse, we have lost six innocent lives.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia was reeling from the horrific act of violence.
“Tonight, the first thoughts of all Australians are with the victims of these terrible acts and their loved ones,” he said.
He said he had been heartened by the “humanity and heroism” of Australians.
“Our brave police, our first responders and of course, everyday people who could never have imagined that they would face such a moment,” he said. The number of female victims has raised questions as to whether a family issue was behind the killings. Some police sources suggested the man had known mental health issues.
TRAGEDY UNFOLDS
CCTV showed he entered the centre at about 3pm before leaving and returning 20 minutes later with a knife.
The man is seen walking – sometimes running – through the five level complex, as he randomly plunges his knife into victims.
Shoppers appear unaware of the unfolding horror until an alarm sounds, urging people to evacuate the complex.
As the siren sounded, shoppers began fleeing into stores, the carpark and out on the street.
Some shoppers were trapped in shops as store owners closed shutters, in some cases separating families. Others head into the fire escape, some hid between clothing racks while others crawled into a shop cupboard.
Several shoppers recalled seeing at least two bodies on the second floor in front of the Body Shop. Another was seen outside K-mart and also Peter Alexander.
At least one shopper aware of what was happening tried to block the killer from moving along the escalator.
While it is believed police only fired one shot, multiple shoppers believed they heard more.
Bondi resident Kelly Beadman had been shopping with her friend Lindsay Davies and Ms Davies 11-year-old son Hayden when the shop shutters began closing.
Ms Davies had popped into Coles as her friend and son waited outside when the trio separated.
“We could just hear gun shots,” Ms Beadman said.
“I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but then the shop alarms started going off and the shop shutters went down. That’s when I realised ‘this is real’.”
With Ms Davies stuck inside Coles, Ms Beadman took her friend’s son and ran for the travelators leading into the car park with others, before asking strangers if she should get a lift.
“A really kind man named Charlie said we could get into his car and he drove us home”.
About 200 police from the Tactical Operations Unit stormed the centre at about 3.40pm, before a female police officer fired the single bullet that ended the terror just after 4pm.
The dramatic moment was witnessed by Jason Dixon, 52, who said the officer fired the shot as the man advanced towards her with his knife, “one of the knives you use in the meat works.”
“All she said was ‘Put it down’. Just once. Then she shot him in the chest and he went down,” Mr Dixon said.
“Then when he fell on the ground she was giving him CPR. She had to shoot him, because he just kept coming. He had a knife and he wasn’t going to stop. He was advancing at her and he was running, coming to get someone else.”
Jordan Schultz, 31, was in a nearby gym when he heard a commotion inside Westfield.
“Someone was yelling ‘Please help’,” Mr Schultz said. “We heard a gun and my adrenaline started going straight away.
“Everyone was running towards me and we saw the guy in front of Boost juice.”
A young witness locked inside a store – said she has heard gunshots and “bloodcurdling” screams.
“We are absolutely terrified,” she said.
Another witness said their father was chased by the attacker.
“He luckily got away,” they said.
“They are now safe … absolutely shocking.”
SHOPPERS HID IN A CUPBOARD
Rob McDonald, 39, from Coogee arrived at the centre on Saturday afternoon but then quickly began wondering if he would get out alive as he and a group of people hid inside a cupboard wondering if they would be hunted down and murdered.
“We just arrived in the carpark onto the top floor and then we saw down a level there is a viewing platform, we saw someone covered in blood with people trying to help her,” Mr McDonald said.
“The next thing we heard was a gun shot,” he said. “Then we thought ’Is there a person going around with a gun shooting people?’.”
They had no idea if they were in the middle of a siege with multiple shooters.
“So then we just ran into shop, tried to close the doors and grabbed as many people as we could,” he said.
“And then the door wouldn’t lock so we found a cupboard to hide in.
“We were in there for about half an hour before we sort of worked out it was safe.
That came via a news report on one of their phones.
“It was on the news that someone had stabbed people and then was shot,” he said. “We worked out that the gunshot was the police.”
There wasn’t much information, so they eventually took a chance.
“We knew someone was shot, we didn’t know if there were more people involved,” he said.
“One of us eventually went out and saw there was police around,” he said.
“We go their attention and they said we will get you out.”
Witnesses working inside the shopping centre, have reported hearing screams followed by “several piercing gunshots.” Several workers were shaken when they spoke to the Sunday Telegraph from the nearby train station - describing the noise of the gunshots as “terrifying”
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