The shooting incidents which occurred on 2 October at Police Headquarters, Parramatta have impacted the whole community of NSW.
Two lives have been lost and many are grieving. In what has been described as a devastating incident, a 15 year old male shot and killed NSWPF employee, Mr Curtis Cheng, as he was leaving work at Police Headquarters in Parramatta in Sydney’s West. The offender then fired several more shots at officers as they emerged from the building to respond to the incident. He was killed when special constables returned fire.
Any loss of life, under these circumstances, affects us all. This incident has specifically affected the NSW Police Force family. Our sympathies are with the family of Mr Curtis Cheng and all who are grieving at this time.
As police, our message is that any act of violence, regardless of the motivation will not be tolerated, and will be treated as the serious offence that it is. We have all worked together to create a NSW that is respectful and cohesive and we must continue to nurture all the positive aspects of cultural, linguistic and religious diversity that has always been the fabric of our multicultural society.
Police will continue to keep the community informed with accurate information. We ask you to remain calm, go about your daily activities as you normally would and to report anything of concern and suspicion to Police.
• If it’s an emergency, call Triple Zero ‘000’.
• To report crime anonymously, call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000
As stated by Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas:
“The people who will solve this first and foremost are the community, the parents, the mums and dads, the brothers and sisters, the cousins who deal with these kids… Sit and talk to them. Show them love, show them a home environment that pulls them away from abhorrent influences.”
We want to assure you, the communities of NSW, that NSW Police Force are ready to deal with, and will take very seriously, any threats of violence.
You may notice an increased police presence visible amongst our communities. Police will continue to be at our shopping centres, schools, railway stations, transport networks, public events and places of work and industry. This may also include places of worship and gatherings, to encourage and increase community confidence and safety.
NSW Police Force takes crimes, that are motivated by hatred or prejudice very seriously and any such crimes will not be tolerated. If you are a witness or victim, and you experience any incidents such as this, we encourage you to report to Police as soon as possible.