- By Jay Savage, Katy Watson and Simon Atkinson
- In Sydney
A knife-wielding man who killed six people at a Sydney shopping center before being shot dead has been identified by Australian police.
Joel Cauchi, 40, caused panic at the crowded Westfield Bondi Junction complex on Saturday when he started stabbing people with a long blade.
Five women and one man died. Several other people, including a baby, were injured.
Authorities said the attack was most likely “related to the mental health of the person involved.”
In an update on Sunday, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Anthony Cooke said he was still trying to notify the victims’ families.
“Two of them appear to have no family in Australia,” he told reporters.
He said Mr Cauchi, originally from Queensland, was previously known to police and had purchased a storage unit in Sydney.
The deputy commissioner reiterated that the attacker did not appear to be motivated by “any particular ideology or motivation”.
The nine-month-old girl “had surgery overnight and is currently in critical condition and in intensive care,” Health Minister Ryan Park told ABC News.
“Now we certainly hope she pulls through, but there’s a long way to go.”
His mother, Ash Good, was among those killed. Witnesses told local media that Ms Good managed to hand her baby over to passers-by moments after she was injured.
The owners of a health clinic where she once worked told the BBC that Ms Good was a “beautiful person”.
“We are deeply saddened by the horrific news of the Bondi Junction attacks and our deepest condolences go out to everyone affected,” Danni and Coby du Preez of Muscle Medicine said in a statement on Sunday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians were “waking up to try to deal with the shock and trauma” of what happened.
Describing the attack as “unspeakable and beyond comprehension”, Mr Albanese again praised the actions of a lone policewoman who confronted Mr Cauchi and shot him dead as horror took hold from the shopping center.
“The wonderful inspector who ran into danger on her own and eliminated the threat to others, without thinking of the risks to herself,” the Prime Minister said, thanking her and the emergency teams.
State officials said nine people were taken to hospitals after the incident and three others sought medical attention overnight. Around forty rescuers were initially involved in the intervention.
This breaking news story is currently being updated and more details will be released shortly. Please refresh the page for the full version.