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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/16/gladstone-park-shooting-man-shot-dead-victoria-police-melbourne-alleged-stabbing-woman
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Gladstone Park shooting: man shot dead by Victoria police in Melbourne after alleged stabbing | Gladstone Park shooting: man shot dead by Victoria police in Melbourne after alleged stabbing |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Woman taken to hospital in critical condition after what police describe as ‘frenzied attack’ in north-west Melbourne | |
| Victoria police have said officers shot dead a man after witnessing him carry out a “frenzied attack” that left an older woman in a critical condition in the north-west Melbourne suburb of Gladstone Park. | |
| A police spokesman told Guardian Australia officers were called to John Coutts Reserve in Gladstone Park about 3.30pm on Thursday after several reports of a man assaulting a woman. | |
| The assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius said police found a man thought to be in his 30s “seriously assaulting an older female”. | |
| Cornelius said the attack was described by officers as a “frenzied attack”, and that police fired shots within 30 seconds of arriving at the scene after the man ignored officers’ requests to stop assaulting the woman. | |
| While authorities have been unable to identify the older woman due to the extent of her injuries, police believe the man and the woman were known to each other. | |
| Cornelius said the man was known to police but had no criminal record, and that recent contact with him did not indicate “the events of today might have occurred”. | |
| He said the officers who shot the man were “junior members early in their career”. | |
| “They found themselves having to make one of the worst possible decisions that any member has to make in their career, so my heart goes out to them. | |
| “We’re going to wrap our arms around those members and assure them of our support, assure them of our backing,” Cornelius said. | |
| “They’ve done the best to stop a terrible attack from continuing, and tragically, despite their best efforts, it has resulted in the death of a male, who we believe was the assailant, and also very, very serious injuries to the female, who was the subject of that frenzied attack. | |
| “Policing is a very challenging profession. It calls of our members to make difficult decisions in the most trying circumstances. Our members are called upon to act decisively. Our members are called upon to take action. | |
| “It’s apparent to me based on what I’ve been briefed about this afternoon that our members have done exactly what we expect of them,” Cornelius said. | |
| The older woman remains in a critical condition in hospital. | |
| Aerial footage of the park showed numerous police vehicles cordoning off the street entrance to the reserve, and medical responders attending to two people on the ground. | Aerial footage of the park showed numerous police vehicles cordoning off the street entrance to the reserve, and medical responders attending to two people on the ground. |
| The police said homicide squad detectives would investigate the incident, overseen by Professional Standards Command, according to protocols when weapons were discharged. | The police said homicide squad detectives would investigate the incident, overseen by Professional Standards Command, according to protocols when weapons were discharged. |