Australian police have identified a 40-year-old man with mental illness as the perpetrator of a stabbing incident at a Sydney shopping mall that left six people dead and many others seriously injured.

New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cook said on Sunday the man was from northeast Queensland and law enforcement was aware of the man’s condition.

“To date, we still have no information, no information received, no evidence found, no intelligence gathered to indicate that this was driven by any specific motive, ideological or otherwise,” Cook said.

“We know the offender in this case suffered from mental illness.”

The 40-year-old man, identified as Joel Cauchi, was shot dead by a senior police officer at the scene on Saturday.

His Facebook profile said he was from Toowoomba, near Brisbane, and attended a local high school and college.

He has a distinctive gray, red and yellow dragon tattoo on his right arm to help identify him.

It is believed he traveled to Sydney about a month ago and rented a small storage unit in the city. Inside were personal items, including a surfboard.

Police are still trying to understand whether the attacker was chosen at random.

Couch was involved in a riot on Saturday afternoon that left five women and a man dead at a busy shopping center in Sydney’s Bondi Junction, not far from the famous beach.

Among the injured was a nine-month-old baby girl, who was said to be in “serious but stable condition in hospital.”

The baby’s mother is believed to have handed her baby over to strangers in a desperate hope that they could save the newborn’s life, eventually succumbing to her injuries.

Two of the victims are said to have no family in Australia and are currently trying to contact relatives overseas.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australians, largely unaccustomed to violent crime, would find it difficult to comprehend the “unspeakable” attack, which was “truly incomprehensible”.

He said: “People shopping on Saturday afternoon should be safe and should not be at risk. But unfortunately we have seen people lose their lives and people will be grieving for their loved ones today.”

“We also know that there are many people who are still recovering in hospital and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

Albanese said he had received messages from U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, among others.

He again praised the officer who shot Couch as a hero.

He said the “excellent inspector” “put himself in danger… without considering the risks he faced”.

Flowers were placed outside the mall early Sunday morning.

A white ribbon wrapped around a bouquet of flowers simply said “RIP” and a heart was drawn in black marker.

Family members hugged each other as they laid flowers. One man stood silently, wiped away tears, and moved on.

Sydney resident Paul Hoolahan said he came to pay his respects to those who had died at the shopping center, where he often drank coffee with his grandchildren.

“It was emotional,” Hoolahan told AFP. “This shouldn’t have happened. It hit here,” he said, pointing to his chest.