The gunman who shot dead a police civilian employee in western Sydney on Friday was a “radicalised” 15-year-old of Iraqi-Kurdish background who was born in Iran, police say.
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The commissioner identified the victim as Curtis Cheng, who has worked in the force’s finance division for 17 years. The police don’t have any information to suggest that the boy was acting with anyone else, he said.
In a statrement, NSW police confirmed two people had died at the scene and a “critical incident investigation has been launched” after “a number of shots were fired”.
A man working for the police in Sydney was reportedly shot outside the Parramatta police headquarters by a gunman in the Australian city today.
The incident happened at 4.30pm at Charles Street.
Scipione said police were “keeping an open mind” about the motive behind the attack, but that NSW police had re-circulated its safety warnings to police officers this afternoon.
He said people could feel safe as the incident had ended with the death of the gunman.
The shooter lived in the Parramatta area, Scipione said.
A real estate agent told Sky News he heard gunshots and saw the suspect dressed in black and waving a gun outside the police building, after which he and his staff ran into their office.
Three other officers then came under fire. There are reports it was a drive-by shooting and police had intelligence it would occur.
Witnesses to the killing have told Australian media outlets they saw him running around in front of the police building with a handgun in the air shouting out “Allah!”
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Heavily armed counter-terrorism police raided a Fairfield granny flat (above) and arrested two men they believe were planning to attack either a Sydney police station or officers on the street. “It was a cold-blooded murder”, Turnbull told reporters in Melbourne.
