An alleged shoe thief is fighting for his life in hospital after a daring attempt to steal a pair of shoes went horribly wrong in a Sydney CBD shopping centre.
The 29-year-old man had been trying on the shoes at a store on the corner of Pitt and Market streets in the Sydney CBD just before 4:30 pm on Thursday.
According to police, the man fled the store without paying for the shoes, prompting a staff member to chase him into a neighbouring shopping centre.
In a desperate bid to escape, the man jumped a railing and plummeted 6m to the ground below.
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with one person posting on social media that they were walking through the Westfield when they came across the man.
“Myself and my family were walking on the bottom floor and heard moaning and we turned the corner and there was a man at the bottom of the escalators with blood everywhere and he was wiggling,” they said.
“I thought he was stabbed, we got out of the shop fast.”
The man was treated at the scene for a serious head injury and taken to hospital in a critical condition. He remains in hospital with critical injuries.
Police have urged any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers or local police.