A man was arrested on Monday after ramming his car into the gates of the Russian consulate in Sydney, Australian police said.
Police said that officers responded shortly after 8 a.m. to reports of an unauthorized vehicle parked in the driveway of an address on Fullerton Street that corresponded with the location of the Russian consulate.
Police reported that an unauthorized vehicle was parked in the consulate's driveway. The driver then "allegedly drove his vehicle into the gates of the property," a police report cited by Sky News Australia stated.
Officers attempted to speak to the driver before he drove his vehicle into the gates, New South Wales police said in a statement.
A neighbor who witnessed the incident said he saw the car force its way through the gates after the driver was instructed to step out of the vehicle.
"The policemen continued to ask him to get out of the car. He didn't get out of the car. They drew their firearms," he said, declining to give his name.
"It was quite dramatic on a Monday morning."
Television footage from Australian networks Sky News and Nine showed a white SUV with a smashed window abandoned next to a Russian flagpole on the grounds of the consulate in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra.
"Get out of the car now," police shouted at the man in the car inside the grounds, according to an eyewitness video of the incident viewed by Reuters.
A 39-year-old man was arrested, and a 24-year-old constable sustained a hand injury, police said.
A person who answered a phone at the consulate declined to comment on the incident.
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 police helicopter arrived at the scene.
A flatbed truck later removed a white SUV from the grounds of the consulate, a Reuters witness said.
The consulate was briefly closed before reopening, said people behind a police cordon who had Monday visa appointments.
Police arrest man outside of Russian consulate
A witness told the Sydney Morning Herald that officers pointed their guns at the suspect.
“I just saw the policemen draw their guns at the gentleman, asking the gentleman to come out of his car," said the witness.
The Australian newspaper reported that the glass was shattered on both the driver and passenger's side doors.