‘Something out of a movie’: Busy Sydney street turns into war zone as man fires 100 shots into crowd; 20 injured
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Something out of a movie’: Busy Sydney street turns into war zone as man fires 100 shots into crowd; 20 injured")
Sydney mass shooting | Oct 5 Photograph: (InfoR00M/X)
A 60-year-old man opened fire on a busy Sydney street Sunday night, shooting up to 100 rounds that injured 20 people. Witnesses described the chaos as “something out of a movie.” Police have arrested the suspect.
A 60-year-old man is in custody after allegedly firing up to 100 bullets into a busy street in Sydney’s Inner West, wounding 20 people and sending bystanders running for cover. Police said the gunman opened fire on Sunday (Oct 5) evening at random on passing cars and police officers, unleashing what witnesses described as “chaos” and “something out of a movie.” New South Wales Acting Superintendent Stephen Parry, in a statement, said, “anywhere between 50 and 100 shots” were fired before the suspect was detained.
What happened?
On Sunday evening, the police received calls about a gunman firing into a busy Sydney street. Rushing to the scene of the crime, a large contingent of officers stormed a unit above a nearby business and arrested the suspect, who is yet to be named. Two rifles were seized at the scene.
The alleged shooter was treated in the hospital for injuries sustained during the arrest. Police said no charges have been filed yet.
Eyewitnesses describe chilling scene
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Witnesses described hearing rapid gunfire and seeing flashes of light. “It was very loud and 'bang, bang, bang' and flash-bangs and sparks and smoke and the whole works. It was something out of a movie, really,” said one local resident, Tadgh, who was watching a rugby match nearby.
Office worker Joe Azar, who was working across the street from the scene of the incident, told The Sydney Morning Herald that he initially thought he was hearing fireworks. “Some guy's windshield blew up, then the bus stop glass shattered,” and suddenly “the surreal feeling kicked in like, 'Oh, this is what's happening',” he said.
"It was frantic. It all happened so quick, so I couldn't comprehend what was going on," he added.
Of the victims, one man remains in serious condition with a gunshot wound, while 19 others suffered injuries from shrapnel or shattered glass.
Also read | Fire at Jaipur's SMS hospital kills 6 ICU patients, 5 critically injured; outrage over safety lapses
'Serious and terrifying': Was it a terrorist attack?
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon called the attack “serious and terrifying” but said investigators had found “no known links to terrorism activity or any gang activity.” However, he did not reveal a motive for the mass shooting.
Mass shootings are rare in Australia, where automatic and semi-automatic weapons have been banned since 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre that killed 35 people. Police have launched an investigation into the Sydney shooting.
