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Eyewitnesses have described scenes of chaos as they fled a busy Sydney shopping mall where a knifeman killed six people and wounded several others.
“It was carnage,” said a witness, who was in a cafe nearby with his two young children as the attack began.
The man, who did not want to be named, told ABC News he saw a man suddenly “stabbing people indiscriminately”.
Crowds poured from Westfield shopping centre in Bondi when the terrifying incident began just after 3pm.
“It was insanity,” a visibly upset woman said, as she described seeing a wounded woman lying on the floor.
Warning: This story contains descriptions and images which some people may find upsetting.
Live updates: Five dead after multiple stabbings at Sydney mall
Police say the knifeman had visited the mall at 15:10 local time before returning minutes later to begin his rampage.
The attack was only ended when a female police officer – who had been on duty nearby – confronted the man. He raised his knife towards her and she shot him, police said.
Jason Dockson said he heard “people yelling and screaming, running” and began following behind the officer.
He said the man, armed with a “big blade” started “floating towards us and all I heard was ‘put it down’ and then she shot him”.
“If she didn’t shoot him, well, he would have kept going, he was on the rampage.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the officer as a “hero”, saying: “There is no doubt that she saved lives through her action.”
“For all of us tonight, the devastating scenes of Bondi Junction are beyond words or understanding,” he said.
‘Everyone was in shock’
The Westfield mall where the attack took place is a major shopping centre in the east of Sydney’s central business district and close to the famous Bondi Beach.
It is one of the biggest and most popular shopping centres in the country and like any other Saturday was packed with hundreds of people, including many families and young children.
Horrified shoppers have described their shock as the attacks unfolded.
Johnny, 33, who was visiting from the New South Wales Central Coast, said he heard a commotion while shopping and turned to see a woman and her baby being attacked.
“She was getting stabbed. Everyone was in shock [and] didn’t know what to do,” he said.
Nearby he thought he could make out another body on the ground, he said.
The injured woman managed to make a run for the Tommy Hilfiger store and once inside, staff quickly locked the doors, he said.
