Six Dead in Sydney Shopping Mall Stabbing, Attacker Killed by Police

The motive behind the recent stabbing attack in Australia was not immediately clear. According to the Australian police, the assailant, who remains unidentified, stabbed multiple people.

This attacker was then tracked down and shot dead by a policewoman who is being celebrated as a national hero. Karen Webb, the New South Wales police commissioner, reported that five women and one man had been killed in the attack, and a baby was undergoing emergency surgery.

The attacker is believed to be a 40-year-old man known to law enforcement, although he has not yet been formally identified. Webb downplayed suggestions that the attack could have been an act of terrorism, emphasizing that it is believed the attacker acted alone.

A New South Wales Ambulance spokesperson confirmed that eight patients, including the injured baby, were taken to various hospitals across Sydney, all with traumatic injuries. Witnesses to the incident described scenes of chaos and fear, with people running and police swarming the area.

A witness, Ayush Singh, who was working at a cafe in the center during the attack, recounted the terrifying experience. He helped two elderly women hide inside his cafe and witnessed the assailant with a knife before hearing gunshots.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, praised the bravery of the strangers who helped each other, along with the policewoman who confronted the attacker. The area was filled with the sound of police sirens and helicopters, and the mall has been locked down, with police urging people to avoid the area.

This type of attack is uncommon in Australia, a country with relatively low rates of violent crime.