Australia seeks answers after deadly mall stabbing spree

SYDNEY — On a perfect midautumn day, the scene at an upscale suburban mall in Sydney was as humdrum as it was idyllic.

But in a matter of minutes Saturday, the sprawling, multistory mall instead became a site of panic, chaos and terror.

A knife-wielding attacker stabbed nearly 20 people, including a 9-monthold girl. Six of the victims, including the girl’s mother, died, and about a dozen others were being treated at hospitals Sunday.

The attacker — whose motives remain unclear — was shot and killed by a police officer.

It was one of the deadliest mass killings in Australia in recent decades and has left many in shock, questioning how an incident like this could occur in a country known for its relative safety.

Police on Sunday were combing through a crime scene spanning several floors of the Westfield Bondi Junction mall, which remained cordoned off. They were also going through footage from CCTV cameras and interviewing hundreds of witnesses to Saturday’s attack.

Portraits of the victims, all but one of whom were women, began to emerge. They included a first-time mother, a security guard who tried to stop the attacker and a young fashion employee, according to statements from those who knew them.

New South Wales police officials identified the attacker as Joel Cauchi, 40, who had moved to the Sydney area a month ago from Queensland.

Asked if the attacker appeared to single out women, Karen Webb, the state’s police commissioner, said that would be an “obvious” line of inquiry for police.

The rampage ultimately came to an end by the swift actions of a woman: Amy Scott, a police inspector whom authorities repeatedly praised as having averted what could have been a much larger death toll by shooting the attacker dead.