An attacker who fatally knifed six people in a mall was shot dead by police in Sydney’s beachside suburb of Bondi on Saturday, police said, as hundreds fled the scene.

The assailant was shot by a police officer after he attacked shoppers in the busy Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre, police said in a statement.

Five of the six victims killed were women, while eight people, including a nine-month-old baby, were taken to hospital with stab wounds, New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb told a press conference.

Police at this stage do not believe the attack was terror-related, Webb said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was no indication yet of the man’s motive.

“This was a horrific act of violence, indiscriminately targeting innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday doing their shopping,” he told a press conference.

“Tonight the first thoughts of all Australians are with the victims of these terrible acts.”

Australia has some of the world’s toughest gun and knife laws, and attacks such as the one on Saturday are rare.

‘On the rampage’

Emergency services were called to the mall just before 4pm (0600 GMT) after the stabbing reports, police said.

Ayush Singh, 25, was working in a cafe in the mall when he saw the attack and then heard gunshots as police responded.

“I saw the guy with the knife running and chasing people. As he walked just past beside me I heard two or three gunshots and the guy was neutralised,” he told Reuters.

“People around me were terrified. There were some old ladies I helped to get them inside a safe place inside the cafe.”

Two other witnesses told Reuters they heard shots.

“Even 20 minutes after people were rushed out of the mall, I saw Swat teams of people sweeping the surrounding streets,” one witness said.

The other said they saw a woman lying on the ground and took shelter in a jewellery store.

An eyewitness described the police officer shooting the attacker to state broadcaster ABC.

“If she did not shoot him, he would have kept going, he was on the rampage,” said the man, who did not give his name.

“She went over and was giving him CPR. He had a nice big blade on him. He looked like he was on a killing spree.”

Several posts on social media showed crowds fleeing the mall and police cars and emergency services rushing to the area.

The mall will remain closed on Sunday while an investigation continues, police said.

Yesterday, a 16-year-old boy was charged with murder after two stabbings, one of which resulted in the death of another teenager, near a school in western Sydney, The Guardian reported.

Queensland police arrested five teenage boys and charged one of them after the death of a 70-year-old woman at an Ipswich shopping centre in February.