His target ...women
THE Sydney shopping mall killer deliberately targeted women on his stabbing rampage, say police.
Joel Cauchi noticeably avoided men as he made his way through the centre carrying a large blade.
The 40-year-old killer’s dad Andrew revealed: “He wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain.”
The only man killed was security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, who had tried to intervene on his first shift at Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction. The other five victims were women.
New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said: “The videos speak for themselves, don’t they?
“It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to detectives... that the offender focused on women and avoided the men.
“We don’t know what was operating in the mind of the offender, that’s why it’s important detectives spend so much time interviewing those who know him.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “the gender breakdown is, of course, concerning”.
SCREAMS
The revelation came as more details emerged of the murders on Saturday afternoon.
Damien Guerot was hailed as a hero after trying to stop the killer.
A video of Mr Guerot shows him wielding a plastic pole as he confronts Cauchi on an escalator.
Mr Guerot said he and friend Silas Despreaux, both construction workers, acted on adrenaline.
The pair heard screams of: “There’s a man stabbing people.”
Guerot said: “We just saw him coming, we were thinking, ‘We need to try to stop him’... His eyes were like empty eyes, he wasn’t there.”
Cauchi’s father said his son had been a “very sick boy” and the family had done everything in their power to help him.
He added he had recently been taken off medication.
He said: “He is my son and I am loving a monster. To you, he is a monster. To me, he was a very sick boy.”
Cauchi’s mum Michele said her heart went out to those he had hurt.
She added: “He was brought up in love. If he was in his right mind he’d be devastated with what he’s done.”
Last night the Sydney Opera House was lit up with a black ribbon.
The families of the six victims were given time to walk through the shopping centre before it reopens to the public.