Latest news with #GavinWood
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Update after machete-wielder shot by cops
Two women have been charged over a brawl during which a machete-wielding man was shot dead by police in a shopping centre car park. Police shot and killed a 29-year-old man after a brawl in the Westfield Mount Druitt car park on Saturday afternoon, alleging he showed up with a 'large machete'. It is alleged a fight had broken out between two groups of women at about 3.15pm in the car park across from the centre's Hoyts movie theatre. Two women, aged 19 and 23, have since been charged with affray. They are expected to front Mount Druitt Local Court on September 11. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood earlier alleged six women were involved in the brawl, saying they did not appear to know one another or have any gang links. 'It was just a sheer fluke that they have met, crossed paths and the melee has started,' Assistant Commissioner Wood said. 'The rationale or the reason for the melee we do not know at this stage - it is subject to investigation.' The 29-year-old man allegedly became involved following an altercation upon his arrival at the scene of the brawl. It is alleged he retrieved a 50cm machete from his car and walked towards the group, with police asking him to drop the weapon. He was shot by police when he allegedly failed to do so, and died at the scene. A critical incident was declared and an investigation is under way. Assistant Commissioner Wood earlier said he was content with the actions of his officers. 'The investigation will be subject to scrutiny, as it should be, but their actions were brave,' he said.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- News.com.au
Women charged over Westfield brawl in which machete-wielding man was shot dead by cops
Two women have been charged over a brawl during which a machete-wielding man was shot dead by police at a shopping centre car park. Police shot and killed a 29-year-old man after a brawl in the Westfield Mount Druitt car park on Saturday afternoon, alleging he showed up with a 'large machete'. It is alleged a fight had broken out between two groups of women at about 3.15pm in the car park across from the centre's Hoyts movie theatre. Two women, aged 19 and 23, have since been charged with affray. They're set to front Mt Druitt Local Court later this year on September 11. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood earlier said six women were involved in the brawl, and didn't appear to know each other or have any gang links. 'It was just a sheer fluke that they have met, crossed paths and the melee has started,' Assistant Commissioner Wood said. 'The rationale or the reason for the melee we do not know at this stage, it is subject to investigation.' The 29-year-old man allegedly became involved following an altercation upon his arrival at the scene of the brawl. It's alleged he retrieved a 50cm machete from his car and walked towards the group, with police asking him to drop the weapon. He was shot by police when he allegedly failed to do so, and died at the scene. A critical incident was declared and an investigation is underway. Assistant Commissioner Wood earlier said he was 'content' with the actions of his officers. 'The investigation will be subject to scrutiny, as it should be, but their actions were brave,' he said.
SBS Australia
13-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 13 July 2025
TRANSCRIPT New South Wales Police throws its support behind officers who fatally shot a Western Sydney man. The Prime Minister launches a tourism campaign in China. Australian sprinter Kaden Groves comes his closest yet to a stage win at the Tour de France. New South Wales police has voiced staunch support for the officers involved in the shooting death of a man at a Western Sydney car park yesterday. Police say officers were called to a brawl that reportedly occurred between a group of women in Mount Druitt, before the partner of one of the women allegedly approached the group with a machete. Police say the man was shot by officers when he failed to put down his weapon. Assistant Commissioner Gavin Wood has surveyed footage from the incident and says he is confident in the actions of both detectives, who stood between the machete-wielding man and the women. "The investigation will be subject to scrutiny as it should be, but their actions were brave. I spoke to both police last night and the enormity of what had happened was starting to sink in. We will put our arms around those police, as we do and they deserve that. But they are good people, and good police officers. They did not come in to work yesterday knowing they would have to shoot somebody." Chinese actor Yu Shi will spearhead a new campaign, aimed at luring Chinese travellers to Australia. The campaign is being launched by the Prime Minister, who is in Shanghai today as part of a six-day visit to China. The push comes after Beijing put Australia back on its approved destination list for organised tour groups, In the year to March 2025, 860,000 trips were taken to Australia from mainland China, contributing $9.2 billion to the local economy. While Mr Albanese has told reporters the visit is focused on the economy, there are regional security concerns that will likely be the substance of meetings behind closed doors. The Prime Minister will meet with President Xi Xinping in Beijing later this week. Palestinian hospital officials say 31 Palestinians have been fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip. Israeli airstrikes have also reportedly killed at least 28 Palestinians, including four children. The reports follow two days of meetings between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with no signs of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks. President Trump had previously said he was closing in on an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would wind down the war. Meanwhile, thousands of Israeli protesters have taken to the streets in Tel Aviv, calling on their government to end the fighting. Maayan Sherman is the mother of former hostage Ron Sherman. "After 34 days in captivity, he was killed by IDF bombing. I'm here to remind everybody that there are 50 more hostages that must come back to Israel, must come back to their families." New South Wales police are investigating the alleged shooting of a child on a hunting trip this weekend. Police are inquiring after a nine-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to his right leg, was treated in hospital on Friday night. The incident allegedly occured during a group hunting trip in Bourke. Police have spoken with five men and four children aged between 9 and 15, all of whom are from Victoria. An inquiry is underway into the group's firearm licenses after 17 weapons - including air rifles, rifles and a shotgun were seized. An ancient indigenous rock art collection in Western Australia's Pilbra region has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Traditional owners travelled to Paris for the decision, where member nations unanimously voted-in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, despite threats from nearby gas projects. The engravings pre-date anything found in ancient Egypt or the Roman empire. Peter Jeffries is from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC), which has led the twenty year campaign to have the area- just outside of Karratha -internationally recognised. "It's been in motion now for two or three decades, and we've lost a lot of our old elders in the process. So this is also in recognition of their support, as well." In cycling, Aussie sprinter Kaden Groves has made the podium for the first time at this year's Tour de France. Scoring third place, the Australian team led the pack in the last kilometre of a mostly-flat eighth stage. Groves went early and couldn't hold off Italian Jonathan Milan, who claimed victory. Speaking with S-B-S on the ground, Groves says it was a difficult fight, but he was pleased to have a place on the podium. "These final roundabouts were quite interesting. I almost crashed in the last one. So yeah, super hard. If you weren't in position there you were out of the sprint. In the end we went a bit early, but super happy with the team." Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar has held onto the overall tour lead, retaining the yellow jersey.
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- The Guardian
Sydney police fatally shot man wielding 50cm machete during wife's alleged brawl in Westfield car park
A man shot dead by police while wielding a large machete was approaching a group of women involved in a shopping centre car park brawl that included his wife, police have alleged. The 29-year-old died at the Mount Druitt Westfield in Sydney's west on Saturday afternoon with the officers involved in the incident hailed for their actions. On Sunday, Assistant Police Commissioner Gavin Wood said six women aged in their mid 20s had crossed paths in the car park at 3.15pm and a brawl had erupted. The women were not known to each other and it was 'sheer fluke that they have met', he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The husband of one of the women retrieved a large machete from his car and was walking towards the women when police intervened. 'Police asked the male to drop the machete,' Wood said. The man refused and continued to walk towards the women. 'The police officers got in the middle between the deceased person who was carrying a large machete and some of those females subject to the melee,' he said. 'At that stage, the police officer fired his service revolver'. Wood had checked CCTV footage and the officers' body-worn video and was 'content with the actions of the police'. The shooting would be subject to scrutiny but he said 'their actions were commendable … they were brave'. 'We will put our arms around those police as we do, and they deserve that,' he said. 'They are good people, they are good police officers. They didn't come to work yesterday knowing they had to shoot somebody.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Wood said he had spoken to both officers and they were upset, and the enormity of what happened had started to set in. The shooting was declared a critical incident. The investigation will be overseen by the police law enforcement commission and professional standards and led by the homicide squad. The man, a father of two young children, did not have an extensive criminal history and no gang affiliations. Wood said the machete he was carrying was at least 50cm long. 'If anyone had seen it, you'd be alarmed simply by the vision of it,' he said. The man's wife was arrested but later released, subject to further police inquiries. The actions of the six woman involved in the incident will also form part of the police investigation.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Yahoo
'Brave' police hailed after shooting machete-armed man
A man shot dead by police while wielding a large machete was approaching a group of women involved in a shopping centre car park brawl that included his wife. The 29-year-old died at the Mount Druitt Westfield in Sydney's west on Saturday afternoon with the officers involved in the incident hailed for their actions. On Sunday, Assistant Police Commissioner Gavin Wood said six women aged in their mid 20s had crossed paths in the car park at 3.15pm and a brawl had erupted. The women were not known to each other and it was "sheer fluke that they have met", he said. The husband of one of the women retrieved a large machete from his car and was walking towards the women when police intervened. "Police asked the male to drop the machete," Mr Wood said. The man refused, and continued to walk towards the women. "The police officers got in the middle between the deceased person who was carrying a large machete and some of those females subject to the melee," he said. "At that stage, the police officer fired his service revolver". Mr Wood had checked CCTV footage and the officers' body-worn video and was "content with the actions of the police". The shooting would be subject to scrutiny but he said "their actions were commendable … they were brave". "We will put our arms around those police as we do, and they deserve that," he said. "They are good people, they are good police officers. They didn't come to work yesterday knowing they had to shoot somebody." Mr Wood said he had spoken to both officers and they were upset, and the enormity of what happened had started to set in. The shooting was declared a critical incident. The investigation will be overseen by the police law enforcement commission and professional standards and led by the homicide squad. The man, a father of two young children, did not have an extensive criminal history and no gang affiliations. Mr Wood said the machete he was carrying was at least 50 cm long. "If anyone had seen it, you'd be alarmed simply by the vision of it," he said. The man's wife was arrested but later released, subject to further police inquiries. The actions of the six woman involved in the incident will also form part of the police investigation.
