Police Fatally Shoot Knife-Wielding Individual in Tasmania, Australia
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Sydney, Dec 3 (NationPress) An individual who threatened police and the public with a knife was fatally shot on Tuesday by officers in the Australian island state of Tasmania, according to police reports.
Officers and emergency responders were summoned to the central business district of Launceston, the state’s second-largest city, to engage with the man around 10 a.m. local time, as per Tasmania Police and the Xinhua news agency.
Assistant Commissioner Adrian Bodnar stated that officers deployed capsicum spray when the man disregarded commands to drop the knife and continued to approach them.
“A number of shots were discharged by two responding police officers, with two rounds striking the armed individual in the chest,” Bodnar detailed.
First aid was provided to the man at the scene before he was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead.
One police officer was struck in the cheek by a bullet and received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Bodnar mentioned that the man, who had a history with law enforcement, initially threatened individuals at a business and subsequently on the street.
A crime scene has been established at the location where the shooting occurred, and a police professional standards inquiry into the incident is underway.
