Hungry Jack’s shooting victim Courtney Topic had Asperger’s, expert says

COURTNEY Topic, the woman shot by police as she wielded a knife outside Hungry Jack’s had Asperger’s syndrome, a medical expert says.

For use in the paper only and online after 6pm with heavy MUST CREDIT to Channel Seven News, with those three words . A girl armed with a knife before she was fatally shot in Hoxton Park NSW.

THE woman shot by police as she wielded a knife outside Hungry Jack’s had Asperger’s syndrome and may have been suffering a “meltdown”, a medical expert says.

Courtney Topic, 22, of Carnes Hill, was killed by a single shot to the chest as she lunged at a police officer while holding a 30cm-long kitchen knife outside Hungry Jack’s in Hoxton Park on Tuesday.

The woman moments before she was shot / Picture: Channel Seven News

“We’re all grieving here, I’m finding it difficult. We’re struggling,” her heartbroken father said yesterday at the family’s two- ­storey brick home just five minutes from the scene of the shooting. “The family just need our privacy at this time.”

Distraught ... An officer drops to his knees after the woman is shot. Picture: Channel 9

Forensic officers at the scene outside Hungry Jack’s on Cowpasture Road at West Hoxton. Picture: Robert Pozo

It is understood Ms Topic suffered from Asperger’s syndrome, a mental condition on the autistic spectrum.

Police give CPR to the woman Picture: Angela Martin

The moment after police shot the woman / Picture: Channel 9

She wandered through traffic, clutching the blade and drinking from a fast-food cup, as motorists dialled triple-0 at 11.30am on Tuesday. When police arrived she failed to ­respond to officers’ demands to put down the weapon.

Detective and police discuss events inside the cordoned-off area outside Hungry Jacks.

Witnesses described her as ­advancing “zombie-like” on ­officers who had their backs to moving traffic. Capsicum spray was deflected by her glasses and a Taser proved ineffective.

A male officer eventually shot her in the chest.

The moment after police shot the woman / Picture: Channel 9

A forensics officer collects evidence from the scene after efforts to revive the woman — killed by a single bullet — failed. Picture: Robert Pozo.

Asperger’s expert Tony ­Attwood said: “My concern is that the police were dealing with somebody in meltdown. People with Asperger’s have difficulty reading social cues and ­social conditions, and they can be overwhelmed.”

He conceded it could be difficult for police to identify ­Asperger’s syndrome.

A NSW Police source, who did not want to be identified, said: “Police officers are not doctors. If someone disobeys a police direction it can lead to severe consequences. It was a split-second decision that will live with that ­officer for the rest of his life.”

A map shows the site of the shooting.

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