Two men armed with knives shot dead in two states
Two men armed with knives were shot dead by police during incidents in Sydney and Brisbane.
The deadly incidents, which occurred 40 minutes apart, occurred on Tuesday morning, hours after police officers in Newcastle opened fire on a man wanted by police.
A knife-wielding criminal has died after a police office opened fire at a unit complex in inner Sydney.
The man entered a unit complex in the upscale suburb of Potts Point and attacked two women in separate units around 10:50 a.m.
Arriving officers used a stun gun to control him, but it was ineffective, police said.
Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said the alleged attacker then confronted police, who then fired a single shot at the man, who died at the scene.
The women, aged 48 and 56, were taken to hospital with facial injuries.
Mr. McKenna did not speculate as to why the stun gun was ineffective.
“Tasers have become an effective part of our arsenal,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“It’s a less lethal option, but like everything, they’re not always successful.
“(Police) don’t come to work to confront these things or take lives; that’s the last thing we want to do.”
He emphasized that officers responded to women in distress when the situation quickly escalated.
A crime scene was established with police officers covering the dead man, believed to be between his late 30s and early 40s, with sheets.
The street was cordoned off with a helicopter flying over the scene and about 20 riot police cars, police vehicles and ambulances descending on the block.
Nuria Cobos, who has been living on a quiet street for about a year, described what happened as an encounter in a safe neighborhood.
“I feel lucky. I went for a walk and came back to see all this,” the 40-year-old woman told AAP.
A few detectives entered the street outside the HMAS Kuttabul naval base, waiting to be picked up along with confused food delivery drivers.
Forty minutes later, police responding to a welfare appeal shot and killed a man at his home in Tingalpa, east of Brisbane.
Police said officers attempted to negotiate with the 21-year-old man, but he threatened the officers with a knife and was shot.
One of the police officers who died at the scene was slightly injured
“These incidents are often dynamic and split-second decisions must be made,” Acting Inspector General Heath McQueen told reporters.
“I believe the use of force was appropriate.”
The matter is also being investigated under the supervision of the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission.
In a third incident, a man was shot in Newcastle city center as officers from the high-risk domestic violence offenders squad tried to arrest him.
Police said officers forced entry into a unit at 8.30am and found the man, wanted on five warrants, armed with a bladed weapon.
Two stun guns were deployed, but both were ineffective.
Police allege the 36-year-old man continued to threaten officers before an officer shot him in the shoulder.
He survived and was hospitalized in stable condition.
Both NSW incidents are being investigated by extraterritorial police before being reviewed by the internal police investigation unit.
Each investigation was overseen by the state police watchdog.
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