Indian national stabs cleaner at rail station in Sydney, shot dead by Australian police

Mangalore Today News Network

Sydney, Mar 01, 2023: An Indian was shot dead by the Australian police on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed a cleaner at a Sydney railway station and threatened law enforcement officers, media reports said. He was living in Australia on a bridging visa, reported news agency PTI.

 

Mohamed Rahmathullah Syed Ahmed (32) from Tamil Nadu was identified by the Indian Consulate in Sydney as the man fatally shot by the police. “The incident is extremely disturbing and unfortunate. We have formally taken up the matter with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New South Wales Office as well as state police authorities,” the Consulate said.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, Ahmed allegedly attacked the cleaner (28) at Sydney’s Auburn station before reaching the Auburn police station.

Two police officers on their way out of the police station were confronted by Ahmed, who then tried to attack them, the report said.

A police officer fired three shots, two of which hit Ahmed in the chest. A probationary constable used her taser on him, it said.

Paramedics treated Ahmed at the scene and rushed him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the report added.

Ahmed had five previous interactions with the police, all of which were non-criminal and COVID-19 related, the report said.

Officers just had seconds to respond and were left with no choice but to shoot Ahmed, New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said at a media briefing.

“I fully support these officers. It’s traumatic. It’s a significant incident at one of our police stations,” he said.

“There just isn’t an impending time. It is immediate. He launches through the glass doors at the officers; they had very little time to react," he said.

Smith said the counter-terrorism unit would be brought in to help with the investigation, the report added.

Meanwhile, the police spoke to the cleaner, who was admitted to a local hospital and is now said to be in a stable condition.

He suffered a puncture wound to his left forearm before the attacker allegedly continued to “slash” him after he fell to the ground, Smith said. The two men were not known to each other, the report said, quoting the police.

Courtesy: India Today