Assistant Police Commissioner Dennis Clifford has addressed media after the shooting at Hornsby Westfield earlier today, where it emerged that police had shot down a man wielding a knife, and accidentally injured three innocent bystanders.
Clifford revealed that the assailant – a man in his 20s – was known to police, having been reported missing from a psychiatric centre near the area the day previous. His motivation has not yet been established, although witnesses at the scene said he was barefoot and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.
“Police approached the man, there was a confrontation, and it will be alleged that the man approached police with a large carving knife,” he said.
Clifford defended the officers’ use of guns despite a taser “and other options” being available, citing the matter as being of “life and death” and needing to be resolved in “a matter of seconds.”
When asked to comment on innocent bystanders being injured by police fire, he said: “That’s alarming, but I wonder what may have happened if police had not intervened.”
CCTV footage will be reviewed, and a Critical Incident Team will investigate the incident, including the discharge of the police firearm.
