A Sydney University student claims he was sent “thousands” of messages after he was wrongly identified as the killer behind a horrific attack that left six innocent shoppers dead.
Ben Cohen, a 20-year-old first-year computer science student at the University of Technology, was accused of stabbing shoppers at Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has since identified 40-year-old Queenslander Joel Cauchi as the man who attacked shoppers with a knife.
The name ‘Benjamin Cohen’ began trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, within hours of the stabbings with more than 50,000 posts mentioning his name.
Cohen criticized the Internet sleuths’ accusations as “very dangerous” and noted that they could “destroy people’s lives.”
Ben Cohen (pictured) was wrongly identified by internet sleuths as the man behind the Bondi Junction Westfield attack.
Police have since identified the attacker (pictured during the attack) as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi.
“People don’t really think too much about what they post and how it might affect someone,” he said. news.com.au.
Cohen’s father Mark said the family, who live together in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, were “scared” by the shocking allegations.
“I think they just chose the first face that looks the same and matches their own motives or what they wanted the story to be,” Mark told the publication.
Mark added that the vicious rumors even reached Mr. Cohen’s extended family and his loved ones called to find out if they were true.
“Everyone asks what is happening, people ask if it is true. Of course it’s not true, he’s not even a politically motivated person. “He’s just a normal kid who now has to deal with this,” he said.
Hours before the police held a press conference and revealed that Cauchi was the killer, Mark had gone to X to clear his son’s name.
“Hi NSW Police, you need to release the name of the Bondi Crossing attacker before this nonsense of claiming he was my son causes any more damage,” he wrote.
WhatsNew2Day Australia has contacted Mark Cohen for comment.
Among those killed was Ashlee Good, a 38-year-old mother, who was the first to be attacked by Cauchi along with her nine-month-old daughter.
The baby remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Six innocent shoppers, including the mother of an injured nine-month-old baby, died in the horrific knife attack on Saturday afternoon (pictured, witnesses speaking to an officer at the scene)
Her heartbroken family shared a statement Sunday morning that read: “Today we are reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, an exceptional human in every way and so much more.
‘We appreciate the good wishes and thoughts from members of the Australian public who have expressed great love for Ashlee and our baby girl.
‘We are very grateful for the expert care and attention of the medical team at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
‘We would also like to thank the New South Wales Police for their kindness and diligence in this tragedy and the emergency services for getting our baby the care he needed as quickly as possible.
“To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee couldn’t, words cannot express our gratitude.”