Six people were killed and several others injured, including a 9-month-old baby, in Sydney, Australia, when a knife-wielding man went on a deadly stabbing spree. “Five women and one man are dead following a man’s stabbing rampage at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre,” Australian public broadcaster ABC reported. “Police say a nine-month-old baby is among the eight injured in hospital.”
The attack took place on Saturday afternoon in a crowded shopping center in Sydney’s landmark Bondi Junction. The attacker, who was taken out at the scene by an armed police officer, was identified as a 40-year-old man ‘known’ to the police.
“The attacker has been identified as a 40-year-old man known to law enforcement, though police are waiting to formally identify him,” The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper confirmed.
Sky News Australia reported the details of the attack:
Police have provided fresh details after a man went on a stabbing spree inside a busy Sydney shopping centre, claiming the lives of six shoppers.Emergency services descended on Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon after terrified shoppers raised the alarm.The man – who is believed to have acted alone – first entered the centre about 3.10pm, left briefly and then returned about 3.20pm.Police confirmed before 8pm the death toll had risen from five to six victims after the mother of a baby died in hospital.Several other people have been rushed to hospital with serious injuries, including the nine-month-old baby who has undergone surgery.New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb provided a brief update to media just after 8.30pm on Saturday evening.She confirmed five women and one man had been fatally stabbed in the shopping complex.
The attack comes almost six months after Sydney witnessed a large pro-Hamas demonstration just days after the October 7 massacre, which resulted in the killing of 1200 Israelis and hostage taking of nearly 240 others. The anti-Israel protesters were reportedly heard chanting “Allahu Akbar” and “Gas the Jews.”
“A massive anti-Israel rally on the steps of the Sydney Opera House has sparked political condemnation and an investigation by Australian police after protesters were filmed chanting, ‘Gas the Jews’,” The New York Post reported October 10. “Around 1,000 protesters gathered outside Sydney’s iconic performing arts hall late Monday carrying flares and Palestinian flags and chanting ‘Gas the Jews,’ ‘F–k the Jews’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Arabic for ‘God is great’), the troubling footage shared by the Australian Jewish Association showed.”
Friday night’s attack is the deadliest terror incident in Australia since the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege. The attack was carried out by an Iranian-born Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist who barricaded himself in a Sydney cafe, killing four people and injuring several others.
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