Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old man from Queensland, has been identified as the man behind a fatal stabbing spree at Westfield shopping centre in Sydney’s Bondi Junction on Saturday.
Cauchi’s rampage claimed the lives of six people and left at least a dozen others wounded.
Among the victims was 38-year-old Ash Good, a mother of a nine-month-old baby girl who also sustained injuries during the attack.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed that four women and one man died at the scene, in addition to Cauchi. Good tragically succumbed to her injuries later in the hospital.
Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said this morning that Cauchi had recently relocated from Queensland to New South Wales, making the move just last month.
Cooke said authorities had already communicated with Cauchi’s family, who are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
While the motive behind the attack remains unconfirmed, Cooke indicated that law enforcement authorities suspect it may be linked to mental health struggles.
The violent episode came to an end when a lone police officer, Inspector Amy Scott, confronted the knife-wielding assailant inside the shopping centre. Footage captured Scott, alongside several courageous bystanders, in pursuit of the attacker before a decisive confrontation ensued.
