Australia: Indian national shot dead after allegedly stabbing a cleaner
What's the story
An Indian national was shot dead on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed a cleaner at a railway station in Sydney, Australia, and threatened police personnel with a knife, reports said. The Consulate General of India in Sydney identified the man as Mohamed Rahmathullah Syed Ahmed (32), a native of Tamil Nadu. Detectives are reportedly investigating if mental health played a part in the incident.
Turn of events
Ahmed reached police station 5 minutes after stabbing cleaner
Ahmed allegedly attacked the 28-year-old cleaner at the Auburn railway station around midnight. He then arrived at Auburn police station about five minutes later as two police officers were leaving to respond to the stabbing. When he accosted them and tried to attack, the cops fired three shots at him. Two bullets hit Ahmed in the chest after which a probationary constable tased him.
Twitter Post
Ahmed reportedly continued attacking the cleaner after he fell down
Indian national shot dead in Australia after threatening cops https://t.co/mGROGdPWAs pic.twitter.com/RmgEeJdxLv
— Samaj Weekly (@samajweekly) March 1, 2023
Details
Cops had merely seconds to react: Officials
Paramedics arrived at the scene and treated Ahmed, following which he was rushed to Westmead Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after 1:30 pm. Addressing a press conference in the morning, officials called the incident unfortunate. They claimed, however, that they had only seconds to react and were left with no choice but to open fire at the man.
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terror unit to be brought into investigation
Officials said that they will take the help of the counter-terrorism unit in the investigation. Prior to this incident, Ahmed had five interactions with the police, all of which were non-criminal and COVID-19 related. The cleaner who was stabbed is reportedly stable. He suffered a puncture wound on his left arm. Both men were unknown to each other, per The Sydney Morning Herald.