Six are killed by a knife assailant in a Sydney mall; the terror connection is ruled out

As hundreds of people left the area, police announced that an assailant who fatally knifed six people at a Sydney mall was shot and killed on Saturday in the coastal neighborhood of Bondi. According to a police statement, the attacker assaulted customers at the crowded Westfield Bondi Junction retail center before being shot by a police officer.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said at a news conference that eight people—including a nine-month-old baby—were rushed to the hospital with stabbing wounds, and that five of the six victims who were slain were women.

According to Webb, police do not currently think that the incident was tied to terrorism. According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the man’s motivation is yet unknown.

He said at a news conference, “This was a horrific act of violence, indiscriminately targeting innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday doing their shopping.”

“All Australians’ first thoughts are with the victims of these horrible acts tonight.”

With over 26 million citizens, Australia has among of the strictest gun and knife prohibitions in the world, making incidents like the one on Saturday uncommon.

As the incident was happening, scores of people, including an Indian couple, were holed up in a backroom, where they had barricaded themselves with cardboard boxes. According to a media source, Shoi Ghoshal (36), together with her spouse Debashis Chakrabarty, were inside a business when it became apparent that something was amiss.

According to Ghosal, they believed there had been a fire when they heard many people running inside the shop, but instead, “people were saying someone is stabbing rampantly.” “We entered a storeroom and a backroom, using boxes to barricade ourselves in,” she said, putting the number of individuals huddled inside at twenty to twenty-five. An old lady, according to Ghosal, was sobbing for her husband, who was still outside. She described how the police responded to the group’s calls, telling them to “stay there, stay calm” and relaying the events. Later, the group was removed via the mall’s emergency escape.

Strict escape for a couple of Indian descent

When the incident happened, a number of people, including Shoi Ghoshal, 36, and her husband Debashis Chakrabarty, 34, barricaded themselves with cardboard boxes in a backroom of the Westfield Bondi Junction retail center.
There was a huddle of 20 to 25 individuals inside, they claimed. Later, the group was removed via the mall’s emergency escape.
unknown motivation

The attacker’s motivation is unknown, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Among the six dead, five were female. Among the eight hospitalized is a nine-month-old.