A 40-year-old man who had mental problems and an obsession with knives is responsible for the stabbing in a shopping center that killed six people.
Queensland resident Joel Cauchi was shot dead by a lone female police officer in mid-afternoon on Saturday after stabbing six people to death and injuring several others, including a nine-month-old baby, at Westfield Bondi Junction.
Cauchi was named by police during a press conference Sunday morning and many disturbing details about his life quickly emerged.
He was known to have a strange obsession with knives and at one point his parents took away his knives.
On Saturday he used a 30 centimeter long knife to kill five women, including the mother of the injured baby, and a security guard.
Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, and Faraz Tahir, 30, have since been identified.
Queensland man Joel Cauchi (pictured) was shot dead by a lone female police officer after killing six people in Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon.
In a disturbing Facebook post (pictured), Cauchi asked to meet with “people who shoot guns”
Cauchi was an avid social media user and was part of several online communities.
In one scary incident, he asked a group called ‘Outdoor Adventures: Hiking, Water Sports, Snowboarding, Camping, etc.’ about a meeting with people ‘who shoot guns’.
“Hello, I’m looking for groups of people who shoot weapons, including pistols, to meet, chat and get to know,” he wrote on December 6, 2020.
‘Please DM me if you can help me! By the way, I live in Brisbane.
Three years ago, Cauchi slammed a Queensland knife company for dulling its blades.
‘Dealing with this business has been a nightmare for me. I gave him two knives (one of which is quite expensive) to sharpen and he dulled them both,” she wrote.
“I made sure I had given all the instructions clearly, repeatedly and correctly when I put them in and he blunted them, then he was very useless afterwards, either unable or unwilling to fix the job, leaving me with two dull knives that are basically useless now.’
It is understood Cauchi was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager and was not on medication at the time of the horror attack.
He moved to New South Wales a month ago and his social media indicates he previously lived in Toowoomba with his parents, Brisbane and Surfers Paradise in Queensland.
Six people, five women and one man, were stabbed to death in Bondi Junction Westfield shortly before 4pm on Saturday.
Just a week before the Westfield stabbing, Cauchi posted that he wanted to meet other surfers in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“Hi, I’m surfing in Bondi this afternoon in case anyone wants to meet up there to surf,” he wrote.
Cauchi was also part of several photography groups in Queensland and New South Wales and frequently asked for recommendations of “dark sky locations” for astrophotography.
His Facebook profile shows that he worked as an “online English tutor”, however he was found listed on at least two escort websites where he offered sexual services to men and women.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said on Sunday Cauchi was known to police in Queensland and New South Wales for mental health reasons.
He had a run-in with officers at The Rocks on Sydney Harbor last June, during which he was detained and searched before being released.
“He is not known criminally, but has come to the attention of authorities, in this state and in Queensland, for mental health issues,” Commissioner Webb said.
Cauchi was involved in the Queensland health system until 2012, after which his GPs took over his mental health care.
“Queensland Health extends our condolences to everyone involved in the tragic incident in New South Wales,” a spokesperson said.
‘We will work with Queensland and New South Wales Police on any information and assistance we can provide.
“The man had been treated by Queensland Health for mental health issues more than a decade ago, but his care was transferred to a private sector psychiatrist in 2012.”
It is understood Cauchi’s distraught family frantically contacted police after seeing footage of the Westfield stabbing because they feared he had been involved.
Cauchi’s Facebook profile shows that he worked as an ‘online English tutor’; However, he was found listed on at least two escort websites where he offered sexual services to men and women (pictured, a photo of one of Cauchi’s escort listings).
Cauchi’s social media shows he attended Harristown State High School and studied at the University of Southern Queensland.
He recently tried learning German, Russian and Swedish in exchange for English lessons.
‘Hello, I am looking for a person who speaks fluent Swedish for a language exchange. “I speak fluent English and can teach it in exchange for being taught Swedish if you’re interested,” she posted in a language exchange group in Sydney.