Australia: 6 dead stabbed in shopping center in Sydney, attacker killed. The Police: it’s not terrorism

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The attack which occurred at the Westfield shopping center in Bondi Junction, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia, “is not a terrorist incident”. This was said by NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, providing updates on the episode in which six people died. “The investigation will continue for many, many days, but there are elements that indicate to us that it is not” terrorism, she specifies. The commissioner then assures that “there are no ongoing risks”, because “we are dealing with a person who is now dead”.

There would be five deaths caused by the attack with a knife by a man who was then killed by the police. Hundreds of people who were inside the shopping center were evacuated.

Australian ABC television reported that seven people were taken to hospital with stab wounds. Among the injured was a nine-month-old baby with his mother. The woman later died in hospital.

Attack in Australia, deaths and terror in Sydney

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Police said no clear motive had emerged in connection with the attack. Deputy Commissioner Anthony Cooke, quoted by the Guardian, said the attacker entered the shopping centre, then left and then returned, at which point he began stabbing people in the building. “There is nothing that we are aware of at the scene that indicates a motive or an ideology,” he said.

The interim Australian Prime Minister of New South Wales, Penny Sharpe, said she was ”shocked” by the attack. “My thoughts and those of the NSW Government are at this time with the victims, their families and first responders, as well as those who may have witnessed these horrific events,” she said in a statement. “I receive regular updates from NSW Police and emergency services, as well as the Department of the Premier. I will receive a formal briefing shortly,” she added.