'Calm' Policewoman Shoots Dead Sydney Mall Attacker in Heroic Act

Sydney: A heroic act from a woman cop prevented the Sydney stabbing incident that killed at least 6 people, from taking a turn for the worse. After the attacker was spotted brandishing a blood-stained knife, the woman cop trained her gun at the knifeman and shot him dead. According to several eyewitnesses, the policewoman was "calm" and showed nerves of steel while eliminating the attacker, as per reports. Even as people panicked around her, the cop didn't skip a beat and fired straight at the attacker.

While one attacker was shot dead, his accomplice is still at large. A massive manhunt is underway to hunt him down. The suspect stabbed nine people at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, which is in the city's eastern suburbs. The female police inspector shot him after he turned and raised a knife, New South Wales (NSW) Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters. 

'Courageous' Female Officer, Says NSW Commissioner

The NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said in a press conference after the attack that the senior female police officer who shot the male attacker was "enormously courageous, as were other police officers that have attended that area”. The female officer has requested not to be named as of now.

Six victims and the suspect have died in the Sydney mall attack. Police had no specific details on the condition of the injured.

Cooke said he believed that the suspect acted alone, and he was “content that there is no continuing threat.” He said officials didn't know who the offender was. “This is quite raw,” he said, and a ”lengthy and precise" investigation was just beginning.

He said there was “nothing that we are aware of at the scene that would indicate any motive or any ideology.” When asked whether officials were ruling out terrorism, he said: “We're not ruling anything out.” Cooke said the police inspector, a senior officer, was alone when she confronted the suspect and engaged him soon after her arrival on the scene, “saving a range of people's lives.” 

The video showed many ambulances and police cars around the shopping centre, and people streaming out.

Witness Roi Huberman, a sound engineer at ABC TV in Australia, told the network that he was sheltered in a store during the incident. “And suddenly we heard a shot or maybe two shots and we didn't know what to do,” he said. “Then the very capable person in the store took us to the back where it can be locked. She then locked the store and let us go through the back and now we are out.” 

(With inputs from agencies)