Australian police officer, father of three, killed in axe attack in Sydney
Members of the New South Wales Police Force in a police car.
An Australian police officer was killed after being hit in the head with an axe at a property near Sydney.
Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson, 45, was attacked from behind while attending a call after neighbors complained of arrows being fired into their yard from a crossbow, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Anderson was among 11 officers called to the property and became separated from the others when he was apparently attacked.
A 19-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman had been taken into custody for questioning, the SMH reported.
According to The Australian Associated Press, paramedics treated Anderson at the scene before he was rushed to Hawkesbury Hospital, where he died.
Sky News, meantime, reported that the officer was well known and very popular in the area.
It cited the top police officer in the state of New South Wales, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, describing Anderson — a married father of three from a police family — as an "excellent officer and a damn good bloke."
He added:
"There is a family inside that hospital grieving and a wider family across the state of NSW, the police family, that will be crying inside."
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!