Bondi Junction Westfield stabbing: Quick-thinking dad is praised as he puts eye masks on his children to stop them witnessing the unfolding horror

A father who led his two children away from the scene of a mass stabbing has been praised for his quick thinking which prevented his children from witnessing the carnage.

Police were called to Westfield shopping center in Sydney’s Bondi Junction after reports a man with a knife stabbed shoppers at 3.30pm on Saturday.

Witnesses say the dark-haired, bearded man chased and slashed shoppers as he went on a wild rampage, killing six people and wounding seven before he was shot dead by police.

Camera crews at the scene showed the father and his two young children wearing eye masks.

The little detail was noticed by a woman on X who called the move “bloody amazing.”

Police were called to Westfield in Sydney’s Bondi Junction at 3.30pm on Saturday after reports of a man stabbing shoppers

Six customers were killed in the attack and seven others, including a baby, were injured

“That man covered their eyes so they wouldn’t see the horror of what had just happened,” she wrote.

The man held both children close to him as he calmly walked away from the mall.

Many shoppers are traumatized after seeing victims lying in pools of blood.

Among the dead was Sydney mother Ash Good, 38, who threw her injured child as a bystander in an attempt to save her life.

The baby is undergoing surgery and it is believed the two were the first to be targeted by the alleged attacker.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said the alleged attacker was confronted by a lone female officer on the fifth floor of the complex.

“She confronted the perpetrator who had gone to level five at this stage. As she continued to walk quickly behind him trying to catch up with him,” Commissioner Cooke said.

‘He turned around, looked at her and raised a knife. She discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased.”

The alleged attacker was shot dead by a lone policewoman while the injured were rushed to hospitals

Shoppers who were in the complex at the time of the incident said they feared for their lives as the knifeman fled

Police – including the Tactical Operations Unit – and ambulances attended the scene, and people were seen shouting and screaming at the front of the mall.

The alleged attacker was wearing a green and gold ARL Australia Jersey while casually holding a knife at his side as witnesses claimed he began chasing them.

Photos and videos of the incident were uploaded to X, including a photo of the alleged attacker casually riding an escalator while holding a large knife.

One photo showed one of the attack victims lying in a pool of blood behind a glass door.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said 40 resources had been sent to assist at the scene.

“The NSW Ambulance assisted in transporting eight patients to various hospital facilities in Sydney, and assessed a total of six patients who were injured at the scene,” they said.

A young witness who was locked in a shop said she heard gunshots and “blood-curdling” screams as the attack was underway.

“We are absolutely terrified,” she said.

Photos and videos of the incident have been shared online, showing the bearded man, wearing an ARL jersey, running through the shopping complex and allegedly cutting up innocent bystanders

A young witness who was locked in a shop said she was ‘absolutely terrified’