Flags are flying at half-mast across Australia today in honour of the six victims killed in Saturday’s mass stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney’s east.
NSW Police have confirmed Queenslander Joel Cauchi was the attacker, and that he had moved from Queensland to New South Wales only a month before he took a knife into the crowded Sydney mall on Saturday afternoon and killed six people in an unprovoked stabbing spree.
Cauchi was shot dead by a senior female police officer inside Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon, after setting upon several people inside the complex with a knife and triggering an evacuation.
Five victims — four women and a man — died at the busy centre on Saturday afternoon and another woman died from her injuries in hospital.
Several of the victims have already been identified. Majority were women.
Remembering the victims:
The first victim to be publicly named was 38-year-old mother Ashlee Good, who was attacked alongside her nine-month-old baby and died later in hospital on Saturday evening. Her family says the baby is now “doing well” after undergoing hours of emergency surgery.
Dawn Singleton has also been confirmed to have died in the attack. She is the 25-year-old daughter of businessman John “Singo” Singleton.
Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old Pakistani national who was working as a security guard, has also been identified as a victim.
Jade Young, 47, was identified as another victim by NSW Police on Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday night, NSW Police identified 55-year-old Pikri Darchia as another one of the five female victims.
Chinese national Yixuan Cheng has also been identified as the sixth fatality in the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.
Police said earlier on Sunday that it could be “some time” before all victims were publicly identified. Two of the victims have no family in Australia and authorities have been trying to contact their families.
Twelve people were also hospitalised for injuries sustained in the attack, with one subsequently discharged.
Motives of a killer:
More than 50 people have come forward to police to be interviewed about the Bondi Junction stabbing attack overnight as police continue to piece together what motivated the seemingly senseless acts of violence.
NSW Police Minister Karen Webb said police investigators had finished taking physical evidence and had handed the Westfield shopping centre back to its owners by Monday morning.
Ms Webb said police were trying to investigate a motive for the attack and would speak to the killer’s family in Queensland. An obvious line of inquiry for police was whether he had an issue with women.
Support for locals:
Floral tributes mounted up in Bondi yesterday and hundreds signed a condolence book as Sydneysiders paid their respects to the dead.
NSW Minister of Health Ryan Park said there would be mental health staff at Bondi over the next few days to provide support.
“People can access mental health support directly through the government,” he said on Sunday.
“We don’t want people to suffer alone. This is a very, very traumatic event and something many people have not seen or witnessed before and we understand that can have a devastating impact on people’s mental health.”
Messages of condolences:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the attack “beyond words or understanding.”
“This was a horrific act of violence, indiscriminately targeted at innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday doing their shopping,” Albanese said.
“The first thoughts of all Australians are with the victims of these terrible acts and their loved ones.
“Our nation offers our deepest condolences and sympathies to all those who are grieving for someone they have lost and we send our strength to those who have been injured.”
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the “horrifying and violent” mass stabbing in Bondi Junction on Saturday marks a “very sad day in the history of New South Wales.”
“Whether you know the individuals who have been killed or not, you are grieving today,” Minns said.
“The entire state will have to get behind those families in the days ahead, as they recover and go through the inevitable grief associated with such a horrifying, horrifying event.”
Waverley Council Mayor Paula Masselos has also reassured Bondi locals that the area is safe following the tragic mass stabbing.
“People importantly know they can come to Bondi Junction and be safe. It’s not something that is re-occurring,” Ms Masselos said.
