Man critical after western Sydney police shooting

SYDNEY, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A man has been hospitalized in a critical condition after he was shot by police in western Sydney on Thursday night.

A police statement said that officers were responding to reports of a concern for welfare in the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield around 7:30 p.m. local time on Thursday when they tried to speak to a 27-year-old man.

The man allegedly ran towards the officers and was subsequently shot in the arm and torso.

He was treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics before being taken to a hospital in a critical condition.

Brett McFadden, the assistant police commissioner in the state of New South Wales (NSW), told reporters on Friday that the man had undergone emergency surgery.

He said that the victim was not armed, but had knocked a police officer to the ground after being shot.

Police established a crime scene and have commenced an investigation, which will be overseen and reviewed by anti-corruption bodies. Enditem