A female police officer who acted alone to neutralize a suspect in a stabbing at a shopping center near Sydney, Australia, has been hailed a hero.
A 40-year-old knife-wielding man went on a rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon, killing six people, including a nine-month-old baby, and injuring eight more. Authorities said the murder case was ended when the first unidentified police officer on the scene ran up to the assailant and shot him dead.
“She showed tremendous bravery and bravery,” NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told a news conference. Mr Webb described the heroic officer as a “very senior police officer” but did not release her name.
Witnesses described the police officers’ fearless actions to Australian media.
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A lone female police officer who neutralized a suspect in a stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney’s east has been called a hero. (iPress/Reuters)
Jason Dixon told the Daily Telegraph that officers approached the suspect but he refused to drop the knife.
“All she said was, ‘Put it down,'” Dixon said. “Just once. Then she shot him in the chest and he fell down.” He also added that the man gave the officer no other choice.
A police officer stands guard outside the Westfield Shopping Center where multiple people were stabbed to death in Sydney on Saturday, April 13, 2024. A man stabbed six people to death before being shot dead at a busy Sydney shopping center on Saturday, police said. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
“She had no choice but to shoot him because he kept coming. He had a knife and wasn’t going to stop,” he said. “He was advancing towards her and running to get other people.”
Dixon said the officer shot the suspect once in the heart or chest.
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The stabbing happened at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, authorities said. (Fox News)
“I’m glad she caught him because if he hadn’t, he would have stabbed her too.”
Another witness told Australian broadcaster ABC that police fired shots at the attacker.
“If she hadn’t shot him, he would have kept running. He was going wild,” said the man, who did not want to give his name. “She went to him and was giving him CPR. He had a nice big knife wound. It looked like he was committing murder.”
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Anthony Cook said an officer confronted the suspect alone.
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Police officers respond outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall after a fatal stabbing in Sydney on April 13, 2024. Australian police said on April 13 that they received reports of “multiple people” being stabbed at a busy shopping center in Sydney. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
“She was confronted by a criminal who had moved to level 5 at this stage. [of the mall] She kept walking quickly behind him to catch up with him. He turned her around and faced her, raising her knife. She fired a gun and the individual is now deceased,” Cook said.
Officials said five of the six stabbing victims were women and eight people, including an infant, were hospitalized in Sydney and receiving treatment.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident “a horrific act of violence that indiscriminately targets innocent people on a normal Saturday.”
He praised the police officers who confronted the perpetrator. “She is definitely a hero. There is no question that her actions saved her life,” he said.
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Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the horrific attack, but they do not believe it was terrorism.
“I can assure you, there is no ongoing risk. We are currently dealing with one person who has died,” Webb said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
