Mall stabbing victim had been talking to partner; when he rang her back, there was no answer
Any purposeful targeting of women would be “an obvious line of inquiry” for police.
One of the victims of the Sydney mall stabbing rampage was on the phone to her boyfriend when the attack happened.
Nine News Australia reported that Yixuan Cheng, a Chinese student, was the sixth person to have died in Joel Cauchi’s murderous rampage through the Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction on Saturday.
Cheng, 27, was shopping for clothes and sending photos to her partner in China, Daily Mail Australia reported.
Her parents told Chinese media that after ending the call to his girlfriend, he saw the news about the stabbing attack in Sydney and tried calling her back.
She never answered. The couple were planning to get married after Cheng graduated this year.
The first two victims to be named were 25-year-old Dawn Singleton and 38-year-old Ash Good, the mother of a 9-month-old girl who was also injured during the attack just after 5pm (NZT) on Saturday. The little girl is fighting for her life in hospital.
The third victim was identified as Jade Young, 47, a mother to two daughters and an active member in her community in Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The fourth was a refugee from Pakistan, 30-yearold Faraz Ahmed Tahir. He was a security guard at the mall and the only man killed.
Pikria Darchia, 55, was the fifth victim identified. Darchia is originally from Tbilisi in Georgia and an artist.
Darchia was also a mother to two sons.
In total, seven people died. This includes the attacker, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, who was shot dead by a policewoman after he lunged at her inside the mall. A further 12 people went to hospital.
The policewoman who stopped him was identified.
Inspector Amy Scott was hailed by her boss for showing “enormous courage and bravery” when she responded to the Bondi Junction Westfield attack alone.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said there was “no ideological motive” behind Cauchi’s frenzied attack. But she and Queensland Health, the state’s public health service, confirmed he had a history of mental health treatment and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17.
He was originally from Brisbane and in 2020 he posted on social media asking to meet people who shoot guns. He had a particular interest in knives, once calling the police on his family after they took knives away from him.
Cauchi was estranged from his family, who called police to offer information immediately after seeing their son on television. Cauchi worked as a male escort, selling sexual services online, and was
known to sleep in his car and at hostels.
Webb said any purposeful targeting of women would be “an obvious line of inquiry” for police.
When she was asked about video footage showing Cauchi ignoring men in the mall and deliberately chasing women, Webb said people could form their own opinions about what he was doing.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack was “a tragedy that should have never occurred” and offered his thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
Albanese said the scenes at Bondi Junction were “beyond words or understanding”.
He laid flowers in memory of the victims on Sunday afternoon.
“Yesterday, Bondi Junction was the scene of horrific violence - but also selfless courage and bravery,” Albanese said on Sunday.
“Today this community has come together to mourn the victims of this devastating atrocity and offer its sympathy to those who have lost loved ones.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Kiwis were thinking of those affected by the tragedy, saying “Australia is family”.
Luxon praised members of the public who intervened and emergency responders: “Exceptional courage from NSW Police.”
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters also offered his thoughts, calling the event “shocking and appalling”.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell was in Sydney and was expected to lay a wreath in remembrance of the victims.
Speaking from Bondi Junction, Mitchell described the mood as “sombre” and said a large section of the community had gathered to pay their respects.
Earlier, Albanese paid special tribute to Scott, the policewoman who stopped Cauchi.
She ran through the mall to confront Cauchi . He lunged at her and she shot him dead.