Monday, April 14, 2024 – The man who killed six people in a knife attack at a shopping centre in Australia has been named as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi.
He had moved to Sydney just a month before the attack at Westfield mall at Bondi Junction in the east of the city.
His family contacted authorities when they saw footage of the attack on television.
Cauchi, from Queensland, was known to authorities, but had not been arrested or charged before he committed the attack on Saturday, April 13, police said.
He was identified by New South Wales police on Sunday, April 14, after he was killed by a police officer.
The lone knifeman attacked shoppers on Saturday afternoon and police said they do not think the attack was motivated by terrorism.
Four women and a man in his 30s, a security guard at the shopping centre, died at the scene.
One of the victims was Dr Ashlee Good, a mother whose last act was reportedly to thrust her nine-month-old baby to a stranger begging them to save her, after she was stabbed in her pram.
Queensland Police assistant commissioner Roger Lowe told reporters in Brisbane that Cauchi was “itinerant”, meaning he regularly travelled from place to place with no fixed address.
Mr Lowe said his force was assisting police in New South Wales with investigations.
“He has been in contact with the police, primarily in the last four to five years would be the most contact we have had with him. During that contact we are aware that this individual has suffered from mental health,” said Mr Lowe.
New South Wales police are investigating the man, who moved to Sydney a month before the attack, hiring a “very small” storage container in Sydney which police have “worked through.”
The attacker’s family have released a statement saying they have “no issue” with the actions of the police officer who shot him dead, saying: “She was only doing her job to protect others and we hope she is coming alright.”
They added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims and those still undergoing treatment at this time.
“Joel’s action were truly horrific and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened. He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.”
The family were in contact with police and asked for privacy, the NZ Herald reported.
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