HOW THE STABBER WHO KILLED 7 PEOPLE AND INJURED A 9-MONTH-OLD BABY AT A SYDNEY MALL WAS SHOT DEAD
The Westfield Shopping Center in Sydney, Australia bore witness to a fatal attack carried out by a man that left seven people dead and a 9-month-old baby critically injured. The incident took place on April 13, 2024, and first responders arrived at the spot to apprehend the criminal, who was shot dead at the scene per the press release of the NSW Government. "An officer attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command attended and was allegedly confronted by a man with a knife," a statement by the authorities read. "The man allegedly lunged at the officer, before he was fatally shot."
"A critical incident team comprised of State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad and the Central Metropolitan Region will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. The investigation will also be subject to an independent review," the statement concluded.
Karen Webb, the police commissioner of New South Wales, told 7News Australia during a press conference, that four out of seven deceased individuals were women and one of them was a man who died at the shopping center and another woman passed away later at the hospital.
"A 9-month-old baby is among those injured," Webb added during the press conference. "The infant was transported to the hospital for surgery. Eight others also injured were transported to hospitals around Sydney for their injuries." According to Webb, the authorities were able to identify the criminal as a 40-year-old man. "The man was acting alone and if he was the individual police believed him to be. We don’t have fears for that person holding an ideation, in other words, this is not a terrorism incident," Webb confirmed.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke spoke to the reporters of The Sydney Morning Herald and talked about the attacker. According to him, "a single unit officer" rushed to the crime scene where the attacker turned to her and "raised the knife to attack the officer." "She discharged the firearm and that person is now deceased," Cooke continued.
“The mum came over with the baby and threw it at me, with this hole in the baby, it looked pretty bad,” an eyewitness outside the mall during the incident told 9News Sydney when one of the injured women sought help outside. A CCTV footage of the gruesome attack was released to the public, per NBC News. In the footage, the offender can be seen wielding a long knife as chaos ensues in the mall among shoppers. Another witness of the attack informed ABC News Australia that he spotted the fugitive wearing "a green and yellow T-shirt" while entering the mall and also heard "people yelling and screaming and running."
The attacker, who has been identified as Joel Cauchi was bravely tracked and shot by inspector Amy Scott after Cauchi attempted to stab her as well. The family of Cauchi said in a statement released through Queensland Police that they have "no issues" with Scott as "she was only doing her job to protect others and "they hope she is coping alright." "Joel's actions were truly horrific, and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened," the family added, revealing that Cauchi had "battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager."