Sydney knife attacker shot dead after killing 6 in Australian mall

A knife attacker was shot dead by police in the beachside suburb of Bondi as he allegedly stabbed six people to death at a busy Sydney shopping center in the city’s eastern suburbs on Saturday.

Police said in a statement that a police officer shot fatally the assailant who attacked shoppers in the busy Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center, reports usatoday.com.

New South Wales Police said Sunday that they have identified the assailant as Joel Cauchi, 40, who was responsible for the attack at the shopping centre and not far from the world-famous Bondi Beach.

Talking to reporters at a media conference on Sunday, NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke said Cauchi suffered from yet unnamed mental health issues and police investigators did not believe the act was terrorism-related.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb told a press conference that of the six victims killed, five were women while eight people, including a 9-month-old baby, who sustained stab wounds were taken to hospital.

Webb also said police do not believe terrorism was behind the attack.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government is yet to indicate the assailant’s motive.

Police were swiftly called after the attack at the shopping center, which was a hub of activity on a particularly warm fall afternoon, began around 3:10pm on Saturday.

Six people, aged between 20 and 55, were killed in the attack and 12 others were taken to hospital.

The injured included a 9-month-old child, whose mother died during the attack, said police.

Cooke further said two of the six victims, who were from overseas, have no family in Australia.

Video footage that went viral on social media and online showed many people fleeing as Cauchi with a knife walked through the shopping center and lunged at people.

A lone female police officer shot Cauchi dead at the scene.

Police said the shopping center remains closed on Sunday as they suspect that mall will be an active crime scene for days.