Heroic tales of bystanders confronting an armed man and guiding shoppers to safety have emerged in the aftermath of the tragedy at Westfield Bondi Junction where six victims were killed.
Warning: Some readers may find the following details of the attack, witness accounts and footage of the incident distressing.
New South Wales Police has named the offender as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, who recently came to Sydney from Queensland.
Police said the attack did not appear to be terrorism related.
The senior police officer who confronted and shot Cauchi dead at the scene has been identified as Inspector Amy Scott.
Follow live updates on the stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction in our blog
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Premier Chris Minns and countless others have commended Inspector Scott for acting quickly under pressure to put a stop to the violence.
Mr Minns also praised the bystanders who committed heroic acts in the face of the danger.
“If I could point and highlight some of that strength in the last 24 hours … to the ordinary members of the public that cornered and confronted a murderer in the Westfield Shopping Centre, showing what I would call instinctive bravery under terrible circumstances,” he said.
“It has been incredible to see complete strangers jump in, run towards the danger, put their own lives in harm’s way to save someone that they’ve never met before.”
Man confronts attacker with bollard
Videos have circulated online of a man, armed with what appears to be a bollard, holding back the attacker.
The vision shows Cauchi carrying a knife and attempting to walk up an escalator, while the bystander holds his ground at the top, slowing Cauchi down.
Loading…
When asked about the actions of the man with the bollard at a press conference on Sunday, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said bystanders at the shopping centre had shown extreme bravery.
“People do things in times of stress, people do some very very brave things in these circumstances,” he said.
Witnesses provide medical assistance to injured
One of the victims who died following the attack has been identified as 38-year-old Ashlee Good, who was stabbed along with her nine-month-old baby.
Ms Good’s daughter is currently in hospital, after undergoing surgery at the Sydney Children’s Hospital on Saturday.
A statement from Ms Good’s family thanked two men who looked after her baby following the attack.
“To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not — words cannot express our gratitude,” the statement reads.
“We can report that after hours of surgery yesterday our baby is currently doing well.”
Loading…
Bondi Rescue Lifeguard Andrew Reid was at the scene when the attack unfolded, and assisted paramedics with treating victims.
He said he left the safety of a shop to help a woman who had been stabbed.
“A guy stopped me and said ‘you can’t go’ and I said ‘mate, I’m a lifeguard I need to go and help that lady, she’s bleeding pretty badly,'” he said.
“So he lifted the shutter up and let me out, and I went around the corner and what I saw was just crazy, it was just victim after victim spread out about every 50 metres.
“I started treating the first lady I saw and helped with a couple of other members of the public.”
Shop attendants steer customers to safety
Stories also emerged of shop attendants locking their store doors and taking customers to safety in back rooms.
ABC sound engineer Roi Huberman said yesterday he was inside a shop when he heard gunshots.
“And suddenly we heard a shot or maybe two shots and we didn’t know what to do,” he said.
“Then the very capable person in the store took us to the back where it can be locked.
“She then locked the store and then she let us through the back and now we are out.”
Loading…
Lauren Michael was inside Myer when the store’s gates closed and alarms started ringing.
When she heard gunshots from inside the shopping centre, she ran for cover inside the store.
She thanked the staff for ensuring the safety of her and the other customers.
“I really have to credit the Myer staff, all the retail assistants were amazing and making sure everyone could get to safety,” she said.
Hair salon provided refuge to those fleeing Westfield
Leanne Devine, who owns a hair salon next to Westfield, said her salon filled up with people fleeing the shopping centre.
“It was 3:30 and we’ve just seen hundreds and hundreds of people running out of Westfield,” she said yesterday.
“We’ve had the older women come into the salon who were in Westfield and who were traumatised.”
Loading…
While Ms Devine was meant to be finished work for the day, she said she would remain at the salon until everyone could get home safely.
An older woman waited in the salon to get picked up, as her car was in the Westfield car park.
“She’s sitting in here with her bags from Woolworths, and her legs are so sore from obviously being elderly and running with fear for her life,” she said.
“Hopefully we’ll get her home safe now soon.”