Six people have been killed and several are in a critical condition, including a baby, after stabbings at a shopping centre near Bondi Beach in Sydney. The King has issued a statement and the Australian prime minister says the officer who stopped the suspect is a hero.
Sunday 14 April 2024 10:54, UK
That's all for our live coverage at the moment, but we'll be back if there are any major updates.
In the meantime, you can read about how the attack unfolded by scrolling through the blog, or reading our lead story here...
A victim of the Sydney shopping centre attack has been named as Ashlee Good.
The 38-year-old mother, whose baby was injured in the attack, died in hospital after being stabbed, according to reports.
Her nine-month-old has since undergone surgery.
The UK's prime minister has issued a statement after the "truly devastating" attack.
Rishi Sunak said his heart goes out to those affected by the "abhorrent act of violence".
A man has described the moment his wife realised she had been stabbed during the shopping centre attack.
The man, who has not been named, told ABC News Australia that his partner was one of the people taken to hospital.
"We didn't know what had happened," he said.
"She thought she had got punched then she touched herself and there was blood.
"Apart from that she is OK, she is alive and that's over - the stress is over, the panic, no one could tell you anything, it was terrible."
He said she was stabbed in the top right-hand corner of her back.
Andrew Reid was inside the Westfield shopping centre when today's attack ensued and he was told to evacuate.
The lifeguard said "shutters came down" as he was trying to leave as part of a safety mechanism, and he could hear gunshots not that far away,
"I looked down towards level four, and you could see a woman down there bleeding quite badly," he said.
He asked a man to lift the shutters so he could leave to help the woman, and as he left he saw "crazy scenes".
"That poor woman had lost a lot of blood and me and a couple of other bystanders helped her as there were police scrambling everywhere," he added.
"About 30 metres away, there was another woman on the ground, and she was in a bad way."
It is nearing 1am in Sydney, and Australia is still reeling from today's deadly shopping centre attack.
A knifeman killed six people and injured eight others in the stabbing spree at the Westfield shopping centre near Bondi Beach before being shot by police.
If you are just joining our live coverage, here's what we know so far:
The 40-year-old suspect entered the mall at around 3.10pm local time (6.10am UK time), left and then returned around 10 minutes later, police said.
Emergency services were called at around 3.30pm, following reports of multiple stabbings.
Four women and a man were killed in the shopping centre, and another woman later died in hospital.
Eight people have been injured, including a nine-month-old baby who has undergone surgery.
Reports in the Australian media have suggested that the woman who died in hospital was the baby's mother.
A lone female police officer confronted the attacker, shooting him after he lunged at her with a knife.
In an attempt to save him, she conducted CPR on the man until paramedics arrived, but he could not be saved.
At a news conference, New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the knifeman was known to law enforcement and his attack was not thought to be terror-related.
Hundreds of people ran from Westfield shopping centre, near Sydney, when a knifeman attacked at least nine people.
After the man was shot dead, families were seen in tears as they exited the building.
A supervisor of a luggage store in the Sydney shopping centre has described the moment he saw the attacker stab a woman.
Yohan Francois Philip said he also saw the bodies of four people on the ground, including two security guards.
The 29-year-old said he stayed inside the store with several colleagues and customers as "a growing movement of around 50-ish" ran past.
During the commotion, a woman approached the shop, "banged on the door and said, 'let me in'".
"As I was letting her in, the perpetrator fell behind her with a knife and I saw him and so did the other customers in the store locked in with us and so we quickly pulled her in, locked the door, he got up and we realised he just stabbed two security guards," he told PA.
"Then he ran across, to the corner part of the luggage store, to the premium section, and he stabbed a woman which I saw happen right in front of me."
Mr Philips, who also works as a lawyer, said he heard gunshots and assumed it was actually "gun fights between a police officer and him".
"We've got a view of the back of our store onto the public street and we saw people running out of the store and then later on we saw ambulances and cops and bodies, people being wheeled out," he added.
As he was eventually escorted outside by police officers, he "counted four bodies" on the ground and witnessed the baby that was attacked during the stabbing spree being wheeled out of the building, he said.
The King has released a statement following the Sydney shopping centre attack...
His Majesty said he and the Queen were "utterly shocked and horrified" by the "senseless attack".
He added that their "hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who have been so brutally killed".
"While details of these shocking circumstances are still emerging, our thoughts are also with those who were involved in the response, and we give thanks for the bravery of the first responders and emergency services," he added.
The prime minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, offered his condolences to all the victims of the attack.
Posting on X, he said: "Australia is family. So, all New Zealanders are thinking of those affected by the tragic events in Bondi, especially the family and friends of those killed today.
"Exceptional courage from NSW Police, first responders and members of the public."
