Australian police arrested a man on Monday after he rammed his vehicle into the gates of the Russian consulate in Sydney.
The incident occurred in the eastern suburb of Woollahra shortly after 8 a.m. local time (2200 GMT), according to New South Wales Police. Officers said they initially attempted to speak with the driver after his car was found parked in the consulate’s driveway without authorisation. Instead, the man accelerated, crashing into the gates.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed that its diplomatic protection unit responded to a request for assistance from the Russian consulate.
A local resident who witnessed the event described a tense standoff before the crash. “The policemen continued to ask him to get out of the car. He didn’t get out. They drew their firearms,” the neighbour told reporters, calling the scene “quite dramatic on a Monday morning.”
Television footage broadcast by Sky News and Nine showed a white SUV with a smashed window abandoned on the consulate grounds near a Russian flagpole.
Tim Enright, a construction worker who was on the roof of a nearby building at the time, said he saw a police officer taking photos of a car parked near the consulate around 8 a.m. He said he then heard sirens and a helicopter arrived at the scene.
The consulate was briefly closed before reopening, said people behind a police cordon who had Monday visa appointments.
“There is no current or impending threat to the consulate or the local community,” the Australian Federal Police statement added.
Police said no injuries were reported, and the man was taken into custody at the scene. Authorities are investigating the motive behind the incident.
Melissa Enoch
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