On the afternoon of April 13, local time, a knife wounding incident occurred in a shopping mall in Sydney, Australia, killing six people, including a Chinese citizen, and injuring many others. According to Reuters, local police identified the attacker as a 40-year-old man who was shot dead by a police officer who arrived at the scene that day.
On April 15, Beijing time, Elva, who works in the mall, told the cover news reporter that at about 3 p.m. that day, they learned that someone had injured someone with a knife and then entered the warehouse to take refuge, and later retreated outside through the escape route, during which they heard the alarm sounding all the time.
The attacker and one person confronted each other on the escalator (Source: BBC)
Mall Staff:
Entering the warehouse to take shelter, the alarm keeps ringing
Elva told the cover news reporter that the mall had two buildings that were connected to each other. That afternoon, she worked in the store on the fourth floor of one of the buildings, and the crime scene was in another building.
Crowd evacuated from the mall (photo courtesy of interviewee)
Elva said that at about 3 p.m. that day, the store manager and customers said that there was an injury incident in the mall, "at that time it was not determined whether (the attacker) was carrying a knife or a gun", and then they went into the warehouse together to take shelter, "closed the door, and someone used boxes or something to hold the door up." ”
"I was scared and hid in the compartment where I kept my clothes. She said that at around 3:50 p.m. that day, they moved outside from the escape route and saw multiple police cars and helicopters at the scene, during which time she heard the sirens go off all the time, "and I left on the bus immediately."
Another witness told reporters that at around 3:30 p.m. that day, she and her boyfriend were on the 5th floor of the shopping mall where the incident occurred, "seeing people running and some people watching."
Crowd evacuated from the mall (photo courtesy of interviewee)
Later, she said, they were instructed to evacuate to a store downstairs, where there were many customers. After waiting for a while, they took the escalator downstairs under the escort of the police and walked out of the mall at about half past four, "There was an alarm, a long beel of the doodoo, and after a while there were employees who told us to get to the nearest exit as soon as possible." ”
One video showed a suspect wearing a black shirt on an escalator and confronting him with a tool in hand. Later, the attacker was shot dead by a policewoman. Police revealed that the attacker, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, had mental health problems in the past and they had been in contact with his family.
Six people were killed and more injured as a result of the attack
People lay flowers to mourn the deceased
A total of six people were killed and many injured in the incident. Local media reported that among the six deceased, five were women and one was a male mall security guard. A 9-month-old baby was also injured in the incident and remains in hospital.
According to CCTV News, the Chinese Embassy in Australia and the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney confirmed that a Chinese citizen died and another Chinese citizen was injured in a knife wounding incident that occurred in a shopping mall in Sydney, Australia on the 13th. The two Chinese nationals involved are both international students. At present, the embassy has reported the situation to China and contacted the families of the dead and injured students.
The official website of the University of Sydney also issued a message to mourn the deceased on April 15. According to the article, the police confirmed that a student at the University of Sydney was killed in the incident, and they have been in close contact with the Chinese consulate and the student's family and will provide help as much as possible. At the request of the police and the student's family, they are not releasing the student's name.
A woman lays flowers for the deceased (Source: Reuters)
After the attack, flags were lowered at half-mast in many parts of Australia to mourn the victims, and many people went to lay flowers near the place of the incident.
Source: Cover News