The horror unfolded at 4pm on Saturday afternoon when witnesses say a man began stabbing shoppers at random, including a woman and her baby, before being shot by police, The Australian reports.
Panicked families have described running for their lives as tactical police stormed the shopping centre.
One witness told news.com.au that they saw the bodies of two young people in front of the JD Sports store on level four, with horrific footage showing many more people injured.
Police were seen battling to save victims’ lives across multiple stores, witnesses said, with blood splattered throughout the once bustling mall.
“As soon as I saw the bodies, I ran downstairs and saw the police going upstairs and a few seconds later I heard gunshots,” he said.
Pictures from the scene show one police officer leaning over someone’s body as they lay on the ground of the mall.
One text exchange reportedly between a young girl and her parent shows her describing hearing gunshots and taking cover inside David Jones.
The store, like many others, is understood to have closed its security doors to keep shoppers safe inside as the chaos unfolded.
In a statement releasd at 4.37pm, police confirmed a man had been shot in the shopping centre.
MNA/PR