Five people have been stabbed to death after a man went on a “killing spree” at a mall in Sydney on Saturday, according to police.
The suspect was also shot dead, police added.
Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of Australia, said there had been “multiple casualties” in a stabbing attack at a Sydney shopping centre on Saturday.
“Tragically, multiple casualties have been reported and the first thoughts of all Australians are with those affected and their loved ones,” Mr. Albanese wrote on social media platform X.
Among those injured is believed to be a nine-month-old baby, according to paramedics.
Emergency services were called to Westfield Bondi Junction just before 4pm local time following reports of a stabbing, New South Wales Police said in a statement.
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.
A witness 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. “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.”
Paramedics were treating patients at the scene as the sound of police sirens and helicopters filled the air.
A nine-month-old baby was “transported to Sydney Children’s Hospital with a paediatric stab wound”, a spokesperson for New South Wales Ambulance told NBC News.
The infant was among eight people transported to hospital, although the spokesperson said their conditions and details of their injuries were unknown.
The mall was locked down and police have urged people to “avoid the area”.
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the shopping centre after the incident, news site news.com.au reported.
Several people took shelter in a supermarket, where they remained for about an hour.
Two witnesses told Reuters 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 of the witnesses said.
One witness said they saw a woman lying on the ground and took shelter in a jewellery store.
Several posts on social media showed crowds fleeing the mall and police cars and emergency services rushing to the area.
