Queensland man Joel Cauchi, 40, has been named as the man who went on a stabbing spree at Bondi Junction Westfield, killing six people and injuring at least a dozen more before police shot him dead.
Five women and one man were killed in the deadly rampage at the busy shopping centre in Sydney’s east on Saturday afternoon. The dead include Dawn Singleton, who is the daughter of prominent Australian businessman John Singleton, and 38-year-old mother Ash Good, whose 9-month-old daughter was injured in the attack.
Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said on Sunday morning police had spoken to relatives of Cauchi, who was from the Brisbane area and was known to Queensland police.
He said Cauchi had moved to NSW last month and had rented a storage facility in inner Sydney. Cooke reiterated the attack was not terror-related.
“We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender, but … it would appear that this is related to the mental health of the individual,” Cooke said.
Police believe Cauchi lived with schizophrenia. They were investigating a potential history of targeting women.
Police did not know how he came to possess the weapon, which witnesses described as a 30-centimetre-long hunting knife, that he used in the attack.
Police said many of the injured, including Good’s daughter, were in a serious but stable condition.
About 17 people were stabbed in the rampage, and 12 were taken to hospital on Saturday. Three more people presented to hospital overnight, including a couple with minor injuries.
“This was a terrible scene,” Cooke said. “We are working through the process now of speaking with the families and supporting the families of those victims; two of whom would appear have no family in Australia. So we are working through and with agencies overseas to attempt to reach out to the families.”
Mourners laid floral tributes to the victims at the eastern suburbs shopping centre early on Sunday.
Of the three patients in St Vincent’s Hospital, one woman in her 40s is in a stable condition. A man and a woman, both in their 20s, are in a critical condition. Another patient has been discharged.
Photos posted to Cauchi’s social media accounts show him posing in a wetsuit in front of a surfboard. Six days ago, he posted a message on a Facebook group for people interested in surfing and adventures in Sydney:“Hi I am surfing Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there for a surf!“
According to witness reports, Cauchi, wandered the centre with a knife in his hand and struck at shoppers at random on Saturday afternoon.
Bondi Junction Westfield and streets surrounding were in lockdown and closed as police and ambulance respond to multiple stabbing casualties.
Bondi Junction Westfield and streets surrounding were in lockdown and closed as police and ambulance respond to multiple stabbing casualties.CREDIT:OSCAR COLMAN
Good, 38, was desperate to save her baby after they were both stabbed, handing her daughter to two male shoppers as she was critically injured. She died later in hospital.
Police say CCTV footage shows the attacker first walked into Bondi Junction Westfield at 3.10pm, and left shortly after. He then returned at about 3.20pm, and word began to spread among panicked shoppers that a man was stabbing people.
People locked themselves in store rooms, hid in change rooms – some for hours – or fled to exits.
Shop windows clapped down, emergency warnings blared across the centre and people screamed.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday morning the stabbings had “shocked the nation”.
“People going about their Saturday afternoon shopping should be safe, shouldn’t be at risk, but tragically, we saw a loss of life and people will be grieving for loved ones today,” Albanese said.
“We also know there are many people still in hospital dealing with a recovery and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Acting NSW Premier Penny Sharpe said medical staff had worked around the clock to try to save the lives of the injured.
“We hold in our hearts, the families and the friends and those who have lost loved ones with those who are waiting to hear for those that have been injured, and we stand by all the medical staff who are fighting to save their lives,” she said.
Premier Chris Minns was due to return from a family holiday in Tokyo on Sunday.
The shopping centre remains closed. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald |
