Police shoot man at Mount Druitt Westfield
Emergency services were called to the Westfield Mount Druitt carpark on Saturday afternoon following reports of a fight between two groups.
When officers arrived, a man armed with a machete reportedly approached them, prompting police to fire 'a number of shots.'
Police at the scene of Westfield Shopping Centre in Mt Druitt, where a critical incident investigation has been declared after a man was shot dead by police on Saturday. Picture: NewsWire / Julian Andrews.
A NSW Police spokesperson confirmed a firearm was discharged during the incident.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.
Criminal defence lawyer Rick Rabbah, who was at the scene, told 7NEWS the incident was distressing, even for someone in his profession.
'I specialise in criminal defence, but for things to occur for a day like 3pm on a busy weekend, it's terrifying for everyone, even for someone like myself,' he said.
Around 3.15pm, police responded to a brawl in the Westfields Mount Druitt carpark. A machete-wielding man approached officers, who fired multiple shots. Picture: NewsWire / Julian Andrews.
A critical incident team from State Crime Command's Homicide Squad will lead the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
More to come.
Andrew Hedgman
Reporter
Andrew Hedgman is a journalist for NCA Newswire.
Andrew Hedgman
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

ABC News
24 minutes ago
- ABC News
Man charged with attempting to kill child in northern NSW car crash refused bail
A man charged with attempting to murder a child by allegedly driving off a remote road in northern New South Wales has been refused bail. Just before 9pm last Thursday, emergency services responded to reports of a crash in Avenue Road, West Bungawalbin, south of Casino. Police said on arrival officers found a car had driven into a pole. The 23-year-old male driver and a 17-month-old girl, who was a passenger in the vehicle, were treated at the scene by paramedics for minor injuries and taken to Lismore Base Hospital. The child was discharged from hospital on Saturday. The 23-year-old man was released from hospital on Sunday afternoon and arrested by police. Police alleged he was in breach of an apprehended violence order (AVO) by being with the child. He was charged with five offences, including attempted murder (domestic violence), cause bodily harm by wilful neglect in charge of motor vehicle, contravene AVO and stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm. The man today appeared by audio visual link in the Local Court of New South Wales' new Bail Division Court for the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers region. He was refused bail and is next scheduled to appear in court in September. However, his solicitor Tracey Randall said she would seek to make an application for his release later this week.

ABC News
24 minutes ago
- ABC News
A man who died after falling from a scissor lift in Launceston had a 'mental lapse', a magistrate has found
A Tasmanian magistrate says a man who fell from a scissor lift to a his death had a "mental lapse", and has dismissed the company that contracted him of all but one safety charge. Gerard Dezoete died after he stepped off a raised scissor lift at a construction site in central Launceston on June 17, 2020. In a ruling, delivered in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Monday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Ken Stanton said he believed Mr Dezoete mistakenly thought he was at ground level. "Of course, when the scissor lift was being raised, Mr Dezoete must have been aware that was occurring," his decision read. "Nonetheless, as he later looked along the wall on which he had been working, he would have seen that the eaves were the same height above him as they had been when the scissor lift was at ground level. The ground would have appeared level. Chief Magistrate Stanton said the natural way to get off the scissor lift was to step backwards, and, in doing so, the scene Mr Dezoete saw would have been similar to when the scissor lift was not extended. "Such common lapses are a common part of everyday human experience. Unfortunately, as this case illustrates, sometimes they have disastrous consequences," he said. The charges of failing to comply with a health and safety duty category two and category three, failing to ensure a safe work method statement for proposed work was prepared, and failing to review a safe work method statement were all dismissed against Bisrey Pty Ltd, trading as RnB Painting, the company that contracted Mr Dezoete. But the chief magistrate found a charge of failing to ensure a safe work method statement was given to the principal contractor had been proven. While the painting and rendering business had been using extension ladders, the day before the fall, Tas City Buildings, which Bisrey was contracted to, advised there was a scissor lift available at the site for employees to use. Bisrey manager Liam Reynolds printed a generic safe work method statement (SWMS) for the machine and put it in his car, intending to take it to the worksite. But by the time he arrived, Mr Dezoete had already fallen. "Using the scissor lift was manifestly more convenient than using ladders … it would have appeared to be safer than using ladders. "I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Reynolds knew the scissor lift would be used when it was," chief magistrate's decision read. But he wrote that as an experienced tradesman, it would be "surprising" if Mr Dezoete had not worked extensively with scissor lifts before, that he likely knew how to operate one, and that it was appropriate for Bisrey to rely on his apparent knowledge and skills. The chief magistrate said even though providing a SWMS would have been unlikely to reduce the risk of falling from height, delivering one would have been a "simple, straightforward task with very little cost". "Mr Reynolds had prioritised other business activities over delivering it to the site and providing it," he said. Bisrey's defence lawyer, Greg Richardson, told the court neither the company, nor its director, had any prior convictions, and that the company had always been conscious of safety measures, calling the tragedy "a result of inadvertence". "You don't need a document to tell you not to step off an elevated platform," he told the court. The matter will return to court in late July for sentencing.

ABC News
39 minutes ago
- ABC News
Sydney 'crook' chaser denied bail over offences related to alleged theft of safe with contents worth almost $1 million
A Sydney man who says he chases "crooks and their crooks" has been denied bail in the ACT Magistrates Court, amid allegations about a stolen safe containing nearly $1 million in gold bullion, coins and ammunition. Ray Younan, 63, was initially arrested in May when he was extradited from Sydney to Canberra. He is charged with incitement and unlawfully confining a person. Today the court heard the safe was stolen from inside a Canberra home. The court heard the owners did not call police, instead they called Mr Younan, who lists himself as a "mediator". Magistrate Jane Campbell told the court it is alleged Mr Younan had been paid $10,000 to recover the safe and its contents, from the person the owners believed had taken it. Material revealed to the court alleges that person found Mr Younan in their house with a sledgehammer, demanding to know where the safe was. It is alleged that when the person said they didn't know where the safe was, a meeting was arranged at a sporting field. The person said when they arrived Mr Younan was not there, but there were three other people, one of whom beat them with a bat. Magistrate Campbell read some telephone intercept transcripts alleged to be a conversation between Mr Younan and one of the owners of the safe, saying he had organised the assault. In another conversation allegedly between Mr Younan and another man, he said "I've done this for 35 years". Mr Younan's lawyer asked the court to release him from custody for health reasons, saying he had missed key medical appointments. He also offered a surety from Mr Younan's wife, saying his client could abide by strict conditions at his home in Sydney. But prosecutors said there was a real risk of reoffending and interfering with evidence, which no bail conditions could address. The court heard it was a strong prosecution case, where Mr Younan's actions had transgressed into "standover work", a term for a person employed by someone else to intimidate a victim. Magistrate Campbell agreed. She found no court conditions could overcome her concerns, and denied bail. The safe was later found empty at Mawson Ponds. The contents have not been recovered. Mr Younan's case will return to court in September.