MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian police are examining why a lone attacker who stabbed six people to death at a busy Sydney mall and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men, a police commissioner said Monday. The killer’s father blamed his son’s frustration on not having a girlfriend.
Police shot dead homeless attacker Joel Cauchi during his stabbing attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center on Saturday, near the popular Bondi Beach.
Police ruled out terrorism and said the 40-year-old had a history of mental illness.
New South Wales state police commissioner Karen Webb said detectives would interview Cauchi’s family in a bid to determine his motives. CCTV footage from the mall showed Cauchi targeting women.
“The videos speak for themselves, don’t they? And that’s certainly a line of inquiry for us,” Webb said.
“It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to the detectives that this appears to be an area of interest: that the offender focused on women and avoided men,” Webb added.
The attacker’s father, Andrew Cauchi, said he knew why his son, who suffered from schizophrenia, attacked women.
“Because he wanted a girlfriend and he had no social skills and he was frustrated to the point of going crazy,” the visibly distraught 76-year-old told reporters outside his home in Toowoomba , in the state of Queensland, 870 kilometers away. Cross the New South Wales border from Sydney.
“He’s my son and I love a monster. For you, he’s a monster. To me, he was a very sick boy. Believe me, he was a very sick boy,” the father added.
The only man killed was Faraz Tahir, a Pakistani refugee who worked as a security guard at the mall. Tahir was not armed.
Webb said most of the 12 victims who survived their injuries were also women.
The evidence will be provided to a coroner to report on the circumstances of the deaths.
Webb expected the coroner would also address whether security guards at the mall, one of Australia’s largest, should be armed.
The families of the two victims based abroad have been informed of their deaths, police said. The victims are Tahir, 30, from Pakistan, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, from China. Jade Young, 47, was also killed; Dawn Singleton, 25; Pikria Darchia, 55 years old; and Ashlee Good, 38.
Eight victims who survived their injuries remained hospitalized Monday, including Good’s 9-month-old daughter. The baby’s condition improved overnight Sunday, going from critical to serious, health authorities said.
The conditions of the remaining seven ranged from critical to stable.
Andrew Cauchi said his son was “fascinated by knives”. The father took five US military combat knives from his son while they were both living at the family’s Toowoomba home last year, fearing they would be used for violent purposes.
The father said his son became angry and called the police, accusing him of theft. The knives were given to a friend for safekeeping.
“I told the police that my son has schizophrenia and I’m worried about myself,” Andrew Cauchi said.
“I said to my partner, ‘Why do I feel like I’m going to be killed in my own house by my own son with an American combat knife?’ “, he added.
Flags on government buildings across Australia were flown at half-mast on Monday as a national day of mourning was declared for the victims. A black ribbon will appear on the sails of the Sydney Opera House on Monday evening as part of a light show.
Police had returned control of the seven-story crime scene to the mall operators on Sunday evening, but no decision has yet been announced on when the mall will reopen.
The police officer who was credited with saving many lives by shooting Cauchi, Insp. Amy Scott will be questioned by detectives on Tuesday.
