A “hero” who rushed to help a mother and nine-month-old baby after they were stabbed by a knife at Westfield Bondi Junction has told how he worked desperately to keep the baby alive.
A major incident unfolded in Sydney’s eastern suburbs’ main shopping center about 3.30pm on Saturday after a knife-wielding man went on a rampage, stabbing several people and killing at least four.
Witnesses said the dark-haired man, wearing a Kangaroos NRL shirt, slashed and chased shoppers before a female police officer shot him.
It is understood the baby is undergoing surgery and the mother is in a critical condition in hospital.
A witness interrupted a Nine News reporter carrying out a live cross in Bondi Junction and pointed at his brother, saying: “He’s a hero, he saved the baby.”
The two brothers used clothes and T-shirts from a store to try to stop the baby’s bleeding.
The hero, clearly shaken, said: “The baby was stabbed and, yes, the mother was stabbed.”
“The mother came up with the baby and threw it at me. I just helped by holding the baby and holding the baby and trying to compress him.’
He stood with the mother, tried to compress the blood and called emergency services.
“(It was) very bad… a lot of blood on the floor… I hope the baby is okay,” the other brother said.
Another witness, a mall worker, recalled seeing a mother screaming on the upper level.
“I see a mother and maybe her partner with a baby in a stroller,” he said.
‘She is screaming very, very loud. She runs from one place to another without knowing what to do.
“Then she goes back to the stroller and picks up her baby and there is blood all over her back.
‘The scream was unforgettable, it was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life.
‘My co-worker took me, we closed all the doors, we had to turn off all the lights and doors.’