“This is a horrific scene,” Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cook said at a media conference.
Sydney:
Sydney police on Sunday ruled out terror or ideological motives after a man killed six people in a random knife attack at one of the city’s busiest shopping centers on Saturday.
Police were called to the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in the city’s east just before 4pm (0600 GMT) on Saturday following reports of a stabbing.
Witnesses described the man, identified by police as Joel Cauchi on Sunday, wearing shorts and an Australian National Rugby League jersey. He was seen running around the mall with a knife, attacking people at random. Some shoppers and staff at the mall tried to stop him, and the crowd hid in the closed store.
The 40-year-old attacker reportedly hacked six people to death and injured at least 12 others before being shot dead by a senior policewoman who confronted him.
“It’s a horrific scene,” Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cook told a media conference on Sunday, confirming the man was known to Queensland police.
“To date, we have no information, we have received no information, we have found no evidence, and we have gathered no intelligence to suggest that this was driven by any specific motive, ideological or other factor.”
Cook said it was established Couch had suffered from mental health issues in the past and police had spoken to his family following the attack.
Five of the six victims were women and several people, including a nine-month-old baby, were taken to hospital with stab wounds, police said Saturday. Police said the baby was in serious but stable condition.
The baby’s mother died in hospital from her injuries, local media reported.
King Charles issued a statement about the attack on the Royal Family
Attacks like Saturday’s are rare in Australia, a country of about 26 million people with some of the strictest gun and knife laws in the world.
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