Australia stabbings: attacker and four victims named – as it happened (2024)

Seven people have died in a stabbing attack at Bondi Junction Westfield, a six-level shopping centre in Sydney’s east, including the attacker, who was shot dead by police. Here is what we know so far:

• Police have identified the attacker as 40-year-old Queensland man Joel Cauchi.

• They said the attack was not terror-related and that Cauchi had known mental health issues. He was known to police in Queensland, but not for significant offences. It is believed he came to New South Wales last month.

• Five of the dead were women and one was a man, the NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, said.

• A lone police officer who was nearby tracked him through the centre before shooting him dead when he turned and raised his knife at her. She was later identified by police as Insp Amy Scott.

• The centre remained closed on Sunday and a crime scene has been established.

Flags to fly at half mast on NSW landmarks

New South Wales will fly the Australian and Aboriginal flags at half mast on key landmarks from Sunday to Monday 15 April to mark the loss of life in the Bondi Junction killings.

The Sydney Opera House and Parliament House will be among the landmarks, with the Opera House sails to be lit with a black ribbon from 6pm on Monday.

A security guard killed during the Bondi Junction mass stabbing has been identified.

The Admadiyya Muslim Community of Australia says it is mourning the loss of Faraz Tahir, “a cherished member of our community and a dedicated security guard who tragically lost his life while serving the public during this attack”.

In a statement the organisation said Tahir, 30, had sought refugee in Australia a year ago after fleeing persecution in Pakistan.

He quickly became an integral part of our community, known for his unwavering dedication and kindness. Faraz was not only a valued member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia but also actively contributed to the charitable endeavours of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth organisation.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Faraz’s family and loved ones during this difficult time, as well as with all the other victims and their families affected by this senseless act of violence. We extend our deepest condolences and stand in solidarity with the broader community as we come together to support one another in the face of tragedy.

An Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia member told Guardian Australia Tahir did not have family in Australia and the organisation had been informed of his death by NSW police.

The New South Wales governor, Margaret Beazley, is paying her respects to those killed in the Bondi stabbing attack. She has laid flowers at a memorial near the shopping centre and left a message in a condolence book.

Dawn Singleton, 25, has been identified as the second victim of the stabbing spree in Bondi Junction yesterday.

Singleton’s employer, the fashion label White Fox Boutique, posted a social media tribute to the e-commerce assistant on Sunday.

Over the weekend we lost not only an employee ... but someone special to us who felt like a family member. We are all truly devastated by this loss. Dawn was a sweet, kind-hearted person who had her whole life ahead of her.

She was really amazing. We send our love and deepest condolences to her partner, the Singleton family and her friends.

She will always be remembered as part of the White Fox family.

Dawn is reportedly the daughter of prominent Australian businessman John Singleton and lawyer Julie Martin.

Police piece together background of Bondi Junction killer

Queensland man Joel Cauchi has been named by police as the attacker who stabbed six people to death and seriously wounded 12 others including an infant at the Westfield shopping centre in Sydney’s Bondi Junction.

Police believe Cauchi, 40, had mental health problems and that he had moved to New South Wales only a month before he took a knife into the crowded mall on Saturday afternoon and went on an unprovoked stabbing spree.

Guardian Australia understands Cauchi did not have a fixed address in Sydney and that police do not believe he knew any of his victims.

The NSW police assistant commissioner Anthony Cooke disclosed Cauchi’s identity at a press conference on Sunday morning:

We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage it will appear related to the mental health of the individual.

There is still to this point nothing – no information we have received, no evidence we’ve recovered, no intelligence that we have gathered – that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise.

For more on what we currently know about Joel Cauchi, read the full report by Guardian Australia reporters Catie McLeod and Eden Gillepsie.

NSW police have named the man who killed five women and one man at Bondi Junction in a mass stabbing incident on Saturday as Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old from Queensland.

Assistant police commissioner Anthony Cooke has reiterated that there is ‘no information we have received, no evidence we have recovered, no intelligence we have gathered’ to indicate the attack was motivated by ideology or terrorism

Melbourne landmarks to be lit up in tribute

The Victorian government will light up landmarks on Sunday in tribute to the victims of the killings in Bondi Junction, the premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced.

The following buildings will be participating in this tonight’s light-up in white from dusk:

• Federation Square

• National Gallery of Victoria

• MCG

• Kardinia/GMHBA Park

• Arts Centre Melbourne

• Bolte Bridge

Footage provided to Guardian Australia shows Joel Cauchi ordering his lunch at Saigon Noodle in the Oxford Street mall, about three hours before he began his attack.

Psychological society head: ‘grief, shock, horror and fear will be widespread’

The head of the Australian Psychological Society, Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe, has issued a statement extending her deepest condolences to “the victims and all people affected by the tragic events” at Bondi Junction on Sunday.

This event will have a profound and lifelong impact on all people involved, including victims, first responders, witnesses, members of the community and members of the media reporting on the tragedy. Feelings such as immense grief, shock, horror and fear will be widespread in the community. These feelings are normal to experience, and it can take a few days, weeks or even months to recover from a traumatic event.

Many of the brave people who helped at the scene or witnessed the incident will be in a state of shock, which is likely to continue for some time.

It is crucial to prioritise psychological support and resources for those affected to navigate through the coming days, weeks and years.

It is also important not to speculate at this time regarding the cause or motivation of the attack, and trust that further information will be uncovered and communicated by the police and authorities when formal investigations have been completed.

The statement also contains a checklist of advice and resources to help people respond to what has taken place if they are struggling themselves, or struggling to explain what happened to their children.

Davis-McCabe also praised the police officer, first responders and members of the community who “so bravely put their own lives at risk to save and care for others”.

Anthony Albanese has arrived at Bondi Westfield shopping centre with the NSW premier, Chris Minns, the local federal MP, Allegra Spender, and other local leaders to lay flowers for the victims.

They are not expected to make further statements but we’ll let you know if that changes.

‘The community is on edge’ – Waverley mayor

As people queued to sign a condolences book set up by the premier’s department close to a growing floral tribute to the victims, one of those reeling after the attacks was the Waverley mayor, Paula Masselos.

“We’re still trying to process it,” she said, steps from the entrance to the Westfield shopping centre.

It’s outside people’s frame of reference. There is shock and disbelief.

The fact that so many people are hanging around and want to be here shows they want to share and support the community.

The community is on edge. The more we can help them to process this and reassure them, [the better]. It’s important to remember he acted alone. The threat has ended and he did not have an ideology. We think it is mental health related.

She will be part of a multi-agency meeting including political leaders on Sunday afternoon, where the management of resources and a coordinated approach will be on the agenda, she said.

Trauma counsellors, Rabbi Mendel Kastel and the Salvation Army were all on hand to comfort the community, she said.

Laying flowers allows people the opportunity to do something physical [in support of the community].

North Melbourne offer ‘love and support’ to Ash Good’s family

North Melbourne Football Club has expressed its “deepest sympathies” to the Good family following the death of Ashlee Good and her baby girl, who is currently in critical condition.

Good was the daughter of past player and former board member Kerry Good and his wife Denise. She is the second of four children who was “known and loved by many in the North Melbourne community.”

The North Melbourne president, Dr Sonja Hood, said those connected to North Melbourne were tremendously saddened by the news.

Like all Australians, we were horrified to see the awful details coming out of Sydney on Saturday.

To learn later that Ashlee and her daughter were victims in this tragedy really brings something like this close to home.

Our thoughts and condolences go to all those impacted by the awful events, especially to Ashlee’s partner Daniel Flanagan, Kerry and Dian, Ashlee’s mother Denise, and Ashlee’s extended family and friends.

Kerry and his family are incredibly important people in our club’s history and we offer them our love and support through what is an unimaginably difficult time.

The Good family have accepted the club’s offer for North Melbourne players to wear black armbands in honour of Ashlee in the match against Geelong on Sunday afternoon.

Kerry Good played 74 games for the Kangaroos from 1977 to 83 and served as a director during North Melbourne’s successful run in the 1990s.