SYDNEY - The man who fatally stabbed six people at a mall in Sydney’s beachside suburb of Bondi seems to have targeted women, as the attacker’s father opened up about his son’s long history of mental illness and frustrations with women.

Clad in shorts and an Australian national rugby league jersey, Joel Cauchi, 40, roamed the busy Westfield Bondi Junction on the afternoon of April 13 with a large knife.

Five of the six people he killed were women, as were the majority of the 12 injured.

“It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to detectives, that seems to be an area of interest, that the offender focused on women and avoided the men,” New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“The videos speak for themselves, don’t they? That’s certainly a line for inquiry for us.”

Cauchi was killed by Inspector Amy Scott, who confronted him solo while he was on the rampage.

Police have said Cauchi had mental health issues in the past, and there was no indication ideology was a motive.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “the gender breakdown... was concerning” when asked on ABC Radio if it was a gender-motivated attack.

The last of Cauchi’s six victims to be identified was Ms Yixuan Cheng, a young Chinese who was a student at the University of Sydney.

The other women killed were a designer, a volunteer surf lifesaver, the daughter of an entrepreneur, and a new mother whose wounded nine-month-old baby is in hospital.

The mother, 38-year-old Ashlee Good, handed her bleeding baby girl to strangers in desperation before being rushed to hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Her baby, named Harriet, is in a serious condition at a Sydney hospital but is expected to improve.

The only man who was killed during the attack was Mr Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old security guard at the mall. He had arrived in Australia in 2023 as a refugee from Pakistan, according to a statement from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia to which he belonged.

The New South Wales government said it would give A$18 million (S$16 million) for an independent coronial inquest into the attack, but Premier Chris Minns ruled out any change in rules that would allow private security guards to carry firearms.

Cauchi’s Facebook profile said he came from Toowoomba, near Brisbane, and had attended a local high school and university.

His father, Mr Andrew Cauchi, told local media that he was “heartbroken” and did not know what had driven his son to kill.

“This is so horrendous, I can’t even explain it,” he told reporters outside his Queensland home. “I made myself a servant to my son when I found out he had a mental illness.”

“I did everything in my power to help my son,” added the visibly distressed father. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do or say to bring back the dead.”

The father said he believed his son primarily attacked women because “he wanted a girlfriend, he’s got no social skills, and he was frustrated”.

“He is my son, and I am loving a monster. To you, he is a monster; to me, he was a very sick boy.”

It is believed Cauchi travelled to Sydney about a month ago and obtained a small storage unit in the city, according to police. It contained personal belongings, including a boogie board.

He had been living in a vehicle and at hostels, and was only in sporadic contact with his family via text messages, his parents said.

Thousands of flowers and wreaths lay at a makeshift memorial outside the beachside mall in Bondi on April 15 as hundreds of Sydney residents showed up to pay tributes.

“It’s shocking something like this could happen so close to home,” said Ms Wren Wyatt, who paid respects at the memorial.

“I’m still trying to get back to everyday life. I’ve taken today off to try and get my head better.”

Ms Wyatt said she was walking past the mall on the day of the attack when a crowd rushed past her screaming and security officers told her to flee.

Police said they had finished collecting physical evidence at the mall and started allowing people inside to collect cars and other belongings.

Violent crimes such as this are uncommon in the country of about 27 million people, which has some of the world’s toughest gun and knife laws.

The Australian national flag was flown at half-mast across the country, including at Parliament House and Sydney’s Harbour Bridge, in honour of the victims. The Sydney Opera House’s sails were lit with a black ribbon on the evening of April 15.
REUTERS, AFP