Police believe killer Joel Cauchi was “targeting women” after fatally stabbing six people in a horror attack in Bondi Junction Westfield.
Cauchi, 40, murdered six innocent people and left others seriously injured after entering the shopping center wielding a 30cm knife on Saturday around 3.20pm.
The attack ended when NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who was patrolling nearby, ran towards Westfield and confronted Cauchi alone before shooting him dead.
Among his victims were five women and one man:
- Ashlee Good, a mother whose nine-month-old daughter was also stabbed.
- Dawn Singleton, daughter of billionaire advertising guru John Singleton.
- Mother of two children and architect Jade Young. Her baby was also stabbed and is recovering at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
- Bondi Junction woman Pikria Darchia
- Westfield security guard and refugee Faraz Tahi
The 40-year-old’s motives have yet to be confirmed, but a police source says investigators believe Cauchi was “definitely targeting women.”
The source explained that police viewed extensive footage of Cauchi’s movements throughout the mall and observed him selecting his victims.
“I don’t think there’s any other way to look at it,” the source told the Daily Telegraph.
‘You can see in the images that he passes by other people. He continues walking past them and then attacks a woman.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed on Sunday that Cauchi’s motive for attacking a woman was an “obvious line of inquiry.”
Cauchi was known to police and had been living in Sydney sporadically for the past few years.
Cauchi was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 17 and is understood to have a history of obsession with knives.
While living with his parents in Toowoomba, southeast Queensland, they became so concerned about his fixation that they took his knives away.
His parents, Andrew and Michele, both in their 70s, refused to speak to the media after describing their son’s stabbing as “truly horrific”.
The devastated couple recognized their son from the television footage and made a frantic phone call to the police.
The Cauchis said in their statement on Sunday they have “no problem” with the actions of Inspector Scott or those of the New South Wales Police.
“We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events that occurred in Sydney yesterday,” they said.
‘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.”
The Cauchis have lived in the Toowoomba suburb of Rockville for 46 years and last saw their son a few months ago, when the 40-year-old returned home for Christmas.
Police are currently searching a “very small storage facility” in Sydney that Cauchi rented shortly after moving from Brisbane to Sydney.
He reportedly slept rough and had no fixed address.
Just six days before the attack, Cauchi invited Sydneysiders to join him for surfing at Bondi Beach in a post shared on a Facebook group for beginner surfers.
Cauchi wrote: “Hi, I’m surfing in Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there to surf.”
In another post, shared in December 2020 in an outdoor adventure Facebook group for Brisbane residents, Cauchi explained that he wanted to meet people who shoot guns.
‘Hi, I’m looking for groups of people who shoot weapons, including pistols, to meet, chat and get to know each other. Please DM me if you can help me! By the way, I live in Brisbane,” Cauchi wrote.
Social media users noticed the alarming post hours after police identified Cauchi.
“Thank God you didn’t get a gun…the devastation you’ve caused is pretty horrible,” one person wrote.