Police are investigating after a man went on a stabbing rampage leaving at least 6 dead at a mall in Sydney, Australia. A nine-month-old baby was injured in the stabbing with the baby's mother killed.
According to the Telegraph, a lone, female police officer who was off duty brought the attack to a halt, shooting the suspect at the Bondi Junction Westfield shopping center.
"She entered the proceedings by herself. She is certainly a hero,” Antony Albanese, the Australian prime minister said of the officer. “There is no doubt that she saved life through her actions, and it is a reminder that those people who wear uniform are people who rush to danger, not away from it.”
The suspect who went on the stabbing spree stabbed the baby in her carriage. He left at least 6 dead, including the baby's mother, who succumbed to her injuries after being taken to a local hospital.
A spokesman at the New South Wales Ambulance told NBC News. “A number of those are in serious and or critical conditions at this stage." Police said the individual who went on the stabbing spree is a 40-year-old man, though he was not initially identified in reports.
A spokesman for law enforcement stated that the incident is likely not related to terrorism despite initial reports on the matter suggesting otherwise.
“If he is the person that we believe, then we don’t have fears of that person holding an ideation. In other words, it’s not a terrorism incident,” New South Wales Police commissioner Karen Webb said.
The 9-month-old baby underwent surgery after the stabbing. An eyewitness of the attack on the baby and its mother had to compress the wounds on the young child before medical services arrived.
“The mum got stabbed and mum came over with a baby and threw it at me,” he said.
“I was just holding the baby and trying to compress the baby. Same with the mother, [I was] trying to compress the [bleeding]," the man added. “I think the baby’s fine. The mother, unfortunately, she started to have a lot of blood come from her mouth.”
