Sydney Mall Stabbing: Eyewitnesses Recall Horror Of 'Killing Spree', Hundreds Evacuated From Westfield Bondi Junction

Sydney stabbing news: In Sydney, five people were knifed to death in beachside suburb of Bondi on Saturday. The assailant was shot by a police officer after he engaged with nine people in the busy Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre, police said. Hundreds of people on Saturday were evacuated from a shopping centre in Sydney after a suspected stabbing, news site news.com.au reported.

A police operation was underway at the busy mall near Bondi Beach after the suspected stabbing on Saturday afternoon, according to the news site. Two witnesses told Reuters they heard shots fired. One of the witnesses said they saw a woman lying on the ground before sheltering in a jewellery store. Several posts on social media showed crowds fleeing the mall and police cars and emergency services rushing to the area.

'He Was On The Rampage': Eyewitnesses Recount Shooting Horror

Saturday's stabbing incident in the Sydney mall left the locals in the area shocked with five dead and eight including a child injured. The assaulter was shot to death as well soon by a police officer.

Reese Colmenares, an eyewitness who hid in a hardware store with 20 others when people started running out of the mall, said she saw a baby with stab wounds being taken to an ambulance.

"The mother was terrified, the mother was sad, just holding (and) comforting the baby," she told Reuters. Two other witnesses said they heard shots fired.

"Even 20 minutes after people were rushed out of the mall, I
saw SWAT teams of people sweeping the surrounding streets," one witness said.

The other said they saw a woman lying on the ground and took shelter in a jewellery store. An eyewitness described the police officer shooting the attacker to state broadcaster ABC.

"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. "She went over and was giving him CPR. He had a nice big blade on him. He looked like he was on a killing spree."

Australia has some of the world's toughest gun and knife laws, and attacks such as the one on Saturday are rare. In an official post on X Anthony Albanese said he was briefed "on the devastating events at Bondi Junction. Tragically, multiple casualties have been reported and the first thoughts of all Australians are with those affected and their loved ones."

Further, he added, "Our hearts go out to those injured and we offer our thanks to those caring for them as well as our brave police and first responders."

(With agency inputs)