Three innocent bystanders were shot when police opened fire on a ”zombie-like” man waving a knife outside a busy shopping centre in Sydney today.
Bullet fragments are believed to have struck the shoppers, all women between 60 and 80-years-old, as the man, who has yet to be identified, fell after being shot three times in his arm, thigh and abdomen.
The four were rushed to various hospitals and were all in stable conditions.
Police confronted the man as he wandered through the Westfield mall in the northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby “babbling incoherently” just before midday, according to witnesses.
Witnesses described the 23-year-old as “zombie-like” and said he lunged at a female officer before police opened fire.
Witness James Yeom, who was working at a nearby store, said the man, who was not wearing shoes, was carrying a kitchen knife.
It is understood he has a history of mental illness.
“A few of my customers came in saying they saw a guy holding a knife and they wanted me to call the police,” Mr Yeom told Channel Seven News.
“When I was calling police I went out and was looking for this guy. He showed up in front of me holding a knife.
“I called police straight away. A few minutes later police officers showed up and asked him to drop the knife.
“He refused to drop the knife. They pointed their gun at him and asked him to drop the knife again, which he refused again. Then they shot him down.”
David Henry, who captured a dramatic image of the injured knifeman lying on the ground, was inside the shopping centre when he heard the shots.
“I immediately saw people running. There were a lot of mums with babies, yelling and panicked,” he told news.com.au.
Sarah Henry, who arrived at the shopping mall a few minutes after the shooting, said she saw police bending over people lying on the ground, surrounded by blood.
Seven News journalist Robert Ovadia said the knifeman shouted “Allahu Akhbar” before police shot him.
The man had been reported missing from a nearby psychiatric facility on Wednesday and police had been looking for him before he turned up at the mall, according to New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford.
An investigation will be launched into the circumstances of the shooting, including the decision by the officers to use their guns in a public area.
Mr Clifford said the officers were facing a “life and death situation” that unfolded over a matter of seconds.
“You can’t dictate exactly what option to use in every circumstance,” he said.
“In this one ... we do know they are dealing with a person with a rather large knife who came at the officers and they’ve made that decision to use their weapons.”
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