PIO couple in backroom escape Aus mall attack
SYDNEY: An Indian-origin couple hid in a backroom and barricaded themselves with cardboard boxes along with dozens of others when a man went on a stabbing spree, killing six people before being shot dead by police at a shopping centre in Sydney on Saturday, according to a media report.
Shoi Ghoshal from Sydney told the BBC that she and her husband Debashis Chakrabarty were at the Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction earlier today when the attack started to unfold.
The 36-year-old described how they were inside a store when it became clear something was wrong.
Ghosal said they heard some people rushing inside the store and thought a fire had broken out but “people were saying someone is stabbing rampantly”.
“We went into a backroom, a storeroom, and used boxes to barricade ourselves in,” she said, estimating that there were between 20 to 25 people huddling inside.
Ghosal said an elderly woman was crying for her husband who was still on the outside. She explained how when the group made calls to the police, they relayed to them what was happening and told them to “stay there, stay calm”.
The group was later evacuated through the emergency exit of the mall, where they were met with the sight of a swarm of police cars.
“It was just beyond horrible. It plays on your mind that you could have been one of the victims. We are grateful we are safe and our thoughts are with those who have suffered. It is terrible for their families,” she told the BBC.
Four women and one man died at the scene, while a fifth woman died from her injuries, police said. Eight people are being treated for their injuries, reported the BBC.