New South Wales Police in a news briefing on Saturday (Apr 13) said it is believed that the knife attack in Australia’s Sydney is not terror-related.
Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed the death of four women and one man at the shopping centre while another woman later succumbed to wounds in the hospital.
Webb said that the suspect was a 40-year-old man, however, the officials are still waiting to conduct a full investigation into the matter before confirming the identity.
She also said that this was not a terrorism incident.
“We know a little bit about this person, but as I said, we’re waiting to confirm his identification. It’s not a terrorism incident,” Webb said during a news conference.
“Later this evening, we became aware of who we believe the offender is. And we believe that he is a 40-year-old man. However, we are waiting to formally identify him and we cannot speculate yet on his identification. But let me assure you that we are confident that there is no ongoing risk and we are dealing with one person who is now deceased,” she said.
“There were four female women deceased in the shopping centre and one male and subsequently another female passed away in hospital, taking it to a total of six plus the death of the offender,” she added.
The assailant who claimed the lives of six in a knife rampage in Sydney’s shopping centre in the beachside suburb of Bondi was shot dead by the police.
Out of the six deceased victims, five were women, while eight others, including a nine-month-old baby, sustained stab wounds and were rushed to hospital immediately.
‘Attacker appears to have acted alone,’ says Australian PM
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a statement said that the attacker appeared to have “acted alone”.
He further said that the speculation on the incident would not be helpful at this stage of the probe.
“It would appear that this person has acted alone. The motives are not known yet and speculation on that would not be helpful at this time,” Albanese said.
He then appreciated the “heroism” of ordinary Australians who exhibited bravery in times of danger.
“Today Bondi Junction was the scene of shocking violence. But it was also witness to the humanity and the heroism of our fellow Australians, our brave police, our first responders, and of course, everyday people who could never have imagined that they would face such a moment,” the Australian PM said.
(With inputs from agencies)