SYDNEY, April 14 — Sydney’s police have ruled out terror or ideology as a motive after a man killed six people in a random stabbing attack yesterday in one of the city’s busiest shopping centres.
Police were called to the Westfield Bondi Junction mall in the city’s east just before 4pm (0600 GMT) after the stabbing reports.
Witnesses described how the man, who police identified as Joel Cauchi, wore shorts and an Australian national rugby league jersey.
He was seen running through the mall with a knife, randomly attacking people. Some shoppers and staff at the mall tried to stop him, and crowds sheltered in shuttered shops.
“We have seen footage of ordinary Australians putting themselves in harm’s way to help their fellow citizens. That bravery was quite extraordinary.
“It is the best of Australians amidst this tragedy,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today.
The 40-year-old assailant fatally knifed six people and injured at least 12 before he was shot dead by a senior female police officer who confronted him.
“This was a terrible scene,” Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke told a press conference today, confirming that the man was known to police in Queensland.
“There is still, to this point, nothing that we have, no information we received, no evidence we have recovered or intelligence that we have gathered that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise,” he said.
Cooke added that it had been determined Cauchi suffered from mental health issues in the past, and the police had spoken to his family after the attack.
Five of the six victims killed were women, and a number of people including a nine-month-old baby were taken to hospital with stab wounds, police yesterday. The baby was in a serious but stable condition.
The mother of the baby was reported by local media as having died in hospital from her injuries.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who have been so brutally killed during such a senseless attack,” said King Charles III on the Royal Family’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
Australia, a country of about 26 million people, has some of the world’s toughest gun and knife laws, and attacks such as yesterday’s are rare.
— Reuters
