Vigil held for victims of Sydney mall attack
An evening vigil was held on Sunday for the six people killed in a knife attack at a busy Sydney shopping centre, which police said was carried out by a local man with a history of mental illness.
Mourners gathered in silent reflection outside the Westfield mall in Bondi Junction, which had been packed with weekend shoppers when 40-year-old itinerant Joel Cauchi went on a stabbing rampage on Saturday.
Police said five women and a Pakistani security guard were killed in the attack, which lasted for about half an hour, until a solo policewoman tracked down Cauchi and shot him dead.
Inspector Amy Scott was hailed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a “hero” who “no doubt” had “saved lives through her action”.
Among Cauchi’s victims were a designer, a volunteer surf lifesaver, the daughter of an entrepreneur, and a new mother whose nine-month-old baby is still in hospital with serious stab wounds.
As night fell on Sunday, a group of about 40 people from a local association placed flowers on the ever-growing pile outside the shopping centre.
They remembered 30-yearold Faraz Tahir, who had been working as a security guard when he was stabbed.
They stood for a minute of silence with their hands clasped, heads bowed and eyes fixated on the flowers.
Australians are still coming to terms with an attack that shattered a city better known for its famed beaches and laid-back bars and restaurants.
On any given weekend the Westfield shopping centre is packed with people shopping for clothes or groceries, with families grabbing a bite to eat or a movie.
Health officials said it would take many eyewitnesses a lifetime to come to terms with what they saw and felt.
New South Wales police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said there was no evidence that Cauchi was “driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise”. Police said he was diagnosed with a mental health issue at age 17.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns flew back from Japan on news of the attack. He said it had been “incredible to see complete strangers jump in, run towards the danger for their own lives in harm’s way to save someone that they’ve never met before”. “We’ve got some wonderful people in our city,” he said.