A Man Went On A Stabbing Rampage In A Mall In Sydney, Killing Six People, Mostly Women, And Injuring 12 Others
Police identified the killer as 40-year-old, white, Australian man named Joel Cauchi from Queensland, who had been known to police.
An Australian man attacked a mall in Sydney on Saturday, April 13, stabbing and killing six people, mostly women, and injuring several others, including a nine-month-old baby girl.
Police said the killer first entered the Westfield Bondi Junction mall, briefly in the afternoon before returning alone with a knife and going on a stabbing rampage throughout the mall.
Police said five people – four women and a male security guard – were killed at the scene.
Another victim, 38-year-old Ashlee Good, later died in hospital after she was injured while trying to protect her nine-month-old baby.
Her baby was also severely injured but has since improved significantly after undergoing surgery.
At least 11 others – including eight women, two men, and the baby – were taken to the hospital.
The killer was eventually shot dead by a woman police officer after he lunged at her with his knife.
At first, misinformation spread about the attacker’s identity as Muslim or Jewish, but police identified the killer as 40-year-old, white, Australian man named Joel Cauchi from Queensland, who had been known to police.
Police said they have not yet confirmed any motivation or ideology behind the attack but suspect Cauchi may have deliberately targeted women during the attack as five out of six victims were women.
Three days later, a second major stabbing attack occurred in Sydney on Monday, April 15, when a 16-year-old boy stabbed a bishop and several churchgoers during a service, which was being live-streamed, at a church.
At least four people were injured, including the bishop of the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church, a popular Christian leader who has also faced controversy for his sermons and views on COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine policy.
The boy was arrested and taken to a secure location by the police, and the motive behind the attack remains unknown.
The government has labeled the church attack as a terrorist attack but said they need more information that the mall attack was “religiously motivated or ideologically motivated” to label the latter a terrorist act.
Mass killings are extremely rare in Australia.
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