The family of a Queensland man who stabbed Westfield Bondi frantically called police after recognizing their son in television footage.
Joel Cauchi, 40, entered the local Bondi shopping center shortly after 3pm on Saturday armed with a large knife and began prowling around the complex.
The 40-year-old terrorized crowds of shoppers enjoying a day out, stabbing at least 17 people, including a nine-month-old baby, and killing six.
He was schizophrenic and police are treating the horrific attack as a mental health issue.
Queenslander Joel Cauchi (pictured) has been named as the man who killed five women and a man at Bondi Junction shopping centre.
The 40-year-old was shot dead by police officer Amy Scott while going on a knife rampage in the shopping centre.
Within minutes, as terrified shoppers ran for the exits, lone police officer Amy Scott entered the center and ran in the opposite direction, toward danger.
In a statement, Cauchi’s family said: “We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events that occurred in Sydney yesterday.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims and those still in treatment at this time.
‘Joel’s actions were truly horrific and we are still trying to understand what happened.
‘He has struggled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.
“We are in contact with both the New South Wales Police and the Queensland Police Service and we have no issues with the police officer who shot our son because he was only doing his job to protect others and we hope it is resolved.” I fixed them well.”
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Roger Lowe said Cauchi’s family had co-operated with police.
“It’s a difficult time to tell someone you’ve lost your child,” Deputy Commissioner Lowe said.
‘His first thought to us was to express his concern for the family and the victims of these crimes.
“And particularly his thoughts on the police officer who had to bravely act that way.”
The family has said Cauchi lived a “hobo” lifestyle and slept in a car and in backpacker hostels.
Deputy Commissioner Lowe confirmed Cauchi had never been arrested or charged by Queensland authorities.
He said the man’s last contact with police was in December 2023, where police checked him on the street.
This refers to an “intelligence gathering report” in which an officer might record someone displaying “some type of unusual behavior.”
“That will be the subject of investigation, but he has never been charged with any offense involving a knife or been found in possession of knives in a way that is unlawful and would warrant prosecution,” Assistant Commissioner Lowe said.
Deputy Commissioner Lowe also revealed that Cauchi had been diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 17, but had received “treatment over the years” before his mental health appeared to worsen in recent years.
Queensland Health records say Cauchi last came into contact with the public health system “more than a decade ago” but his care was “transferred to a private sector psychiatrist in 2012”.
“He has been in contact with the police, mainly in the last four or five years, which would be the most contact we have had with him,” Deputy Commissioner Lowe said.
“During that contact, we are aware that this individual has suffered mental health issues.”
Police said Cauchi was unemployed, had no fixed address and had lived in Brisbane, Kangaroo Point, Carrina, the Gold Coast and with his family in southern Queensland before moving to Sydney.
“The last contact with the family was in March, as I understand it,” Deputy Commissioner Lowe said.
“In terms of phone calls or text messages, he would periodically text his mother telling her where he was.”
Cauchi, who had moved to Sydney in recent months, was listed on several male escort websites including Australia Cracker, Empire Escorts and Escorts Australia.
All websites allow users to upload their own photographs and request their own sexual services.
In his biography, Cauchi described himself as an “athletic and attractive 39-year-old man” who lives in Sydney and was looking for “a fun time.”
He offered dozens of “closed-door services” that are too graphic to publish.
The profiles, which were created around June 2023, were visible on the websites on Sunday morning but were later removed.