EXCLUSIVE
The heroic siblings who saved the nine-month-old girl stabbed in the Westfield Bondi Junction massacre are struggling to cope with the aftermath of the horror.
Brothers Joe and Rick Tomachio were in Sydney’s eastern suburbs shopping center last Saturday when crazed Joel Cauchi, 40, killed six and injured a dozen more.
Fatally wounded Dr Ashlee Good, 38, threw her daughter Harriet into Joe’s hands in a bid to save the little girl’s life after Cauchi stabbed them both in his frenzied attack.
The brothers took the mother and daughter to a nearby store where they attempted to stop the blood loss as the carnage continued throughout the mall.
Minutes later, they were hailed heroes after their bravery was caught on camera as they left the mall in shock at the horrific events, but they have since retreated from public view and avoided the spotlight. .
Brothers Rick (left) and Joe Tomachio (right) helped save the life of a nine-month-old baby during the Bondi massacre on Saturday.
The baby’s mother, Ashlee Good (pictured), is one of six people who died in the brutal attack.
Sal Tomachio said his children were “a little upset” after last weekend’s tragic event.
Now a friend has told WhatsNew2Day Australia how the couple have been hit hard by the tragedy as they deal with their own grief over the massacre they saw.
‘He [Rick] “He’s very shaken,” said a friend who did not want to be identified. “They’re both not doing well.”
On Friday, his parents, Salvatore ‘Sal’ Tomachio and his wife Mary, broke their silence outside the family home in Glenfield, southwest of Sydney.
They said the traumatized brothers are still coming to terms with the shocking scenes inside the blood-soaked mall.
“They did a great thing to help people,” Sal said. “They’re a little upset, you know?”
Mary added: “They will talk when they are ready.”
On Friday, Joe took refuge behind closed doors and with the blinds drawn at his cliffside mansion in Sydney’s plush eastern suburbs.
According to a friend, he is still closely linked to his Campbelltown roots even though he now lives near stars such as David, Candice Warner and Guy Sebastian.
He was hailed as a hero on Saturday after carrying the seriously injured baby to a Tommy Hilfiger store and using the store’s clothing to compress his wounds.
Mary Tomachio said her children will speak “when they are ready”
Joe Tomachio has collapsed following the horrific Westfield Bondi Junction attack which he witnessed first-hand.
Her heartbreaking account of how a terribly injured Dr. Good handed the baby to Rick became one of the first stories to emerge about the incident.
The brothers spoke to a television reporter at the scene moments after being evacuated from the mall.
As shoppers were evacuated from Westfield, a witness interrupted a Nine News reporter carrying out a live cross in the streets and pointed to one of the brothers, saying: “He’s a hero, he saved the baby.”
Clearly shaken, Rick Tomachio recalled how he used clothes from a store to try to stop the baby’s bleeding.
“The baby was stabbed and, yes, the mother was stabbed,” Rick said.
“The mother came up with the baby and threw it at me.
“I just helped by holding the baby… and trying to compress him.”
The brothers stayed with the mother and called emergency services.
“(It was) very bad… there was a lot of blood on the floor… I hope the baby is okay,” Joe Tomachio said.
Despite their best efforts, Dr. Good, an osteopath, died that same night after being rushed to hospital.
Their little girl underwent emergency surgery for critical injuries, but has since improved and is now out of the ICU in stable condition.
Joel Cauchi from Queensland is pictured carrying a 30cm hunting knife on the escalator inside the Westfield shopping center in Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon.
Pictured: The Tommy Hilfiger store inside Bondi Junction, where workers fought to save the life of a nine-month-old girl.
On Thursday, WhatsNew2Day Australia revealed that this is the second time Joe has come to the rescue of a member of the public.
He was publicly praised in 2010 when he stopped to help an elderly woman who had fallen and hit her head on the road in the city’s financial district.
The banker lifted the old woman’s head and gathered other passersby to help him while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
‘It was automatic. “I knew someone had to take control of the situation,” Mr. Tomachio said at the time.
“I grabbed his hand and told him everything was going to be okay.
“Then I asked her where she worked, tried to get her talking and keep her really comfortable, and then I asked local construction workers for help.”
Tomachio, who was walking to work when he saw the woman fall, said he was surprised no one else stopped to help her as she lay on the road in rush hour traffic.
The woman’s daughter hailed him as a hero for saving her life and said she initially thought her mother was dead.
‘Joe was the star. “I can’t thank him enough for the way he stayed so calm and just held her hand,” he added.