The shock of what happened at Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon was turning to anger by Sunday, as questions arose about how one man could stab six people to death.
Sunrise host Matt Shirvington told viewers he could sense the change in mood as he spoke to locals gathered outside the shopping centre about Joel Cauchi’s murderous rampage.
‘People [are] asking questions as to why,’ Shirvington told colleague Michael Usher back in the Network Seven studio.
‘How can this guy carry a knife into a busy shopping centre where we know there is security and just start stabbing people?’
Sunrise host Matt Shirvington (above) said there were questioned to be answered about how lone knifeman Joel Cauchi killed six people at Bondi Junction Westfield. Two security guards were reportedly among those stabbed to death
Police were called to Bondi Junction Westfield at 3.20pm on Saturday after 40-year-old Cauchi began chasing men, women and children with a knife.
He stabbed to death four women -believed to be aged between 20 and 55 – and a man aged in his 30s before the first police officer on the scene, Inspector Amy Scott, shot him dead.
Two of those killed were security guards who had been on duty at the time of the attacks.
A fifth woman, Ashlee Good, died of her injuries in hospital. Dawn Singleton, the 25-year-old daughter of multimillionaire John Singleton, was among the dead.
Twelve others – including nine women, two men and Ms Good’s nine-month-old bay Harriet- who suffered stab wounds were treated by paramedics and taken to various Sydney hospitals.
Cauchi, who had been treated for schizophrenia, moved from Queensland to Sydney only a month ago and was known to police in his home state.
‘We don’t fully understand what happened between last month in Queensland and here in NSW, and what sort of treatment he potentially was given, if any at all,’ Shirvington said.
‘So there are questions being asked about that.
‘People are asking questions as to why,’ Shirvington told fellow presenter Michael Usher back in the Network Seven studio. ‘How can this guy carry a knife into a busy shopping centre where we know there is security and just start stabbing people?’ Police are pictured at the scene
‘There’s also questions being asked to the protocols and whether or not there was enough security on. That’s the other issue. But that is something that obviously will be further investigated down the track.’
Usher agreed with his colleague there were questioned that needed to be answered about security arrangements and the handling of Cauchi’s mental health.
‘I think that’s legitimate, he said. ‘I questioned it last night when I looked at the whole thing. I mean, there’s security guards everywhere these days.’
Security expert Scott Taylor told Shirvington there would be ‘a lot more discussions’ about the effectiveness of protection measures in shopping centres after Saturday’s deaths.
Mr Taylor believed individual Westfield shopkeepers had saved ‘multiple’ lives by locking customers inside their doors and bringing down shutters.
‘The actions by the shopkeepers were just incredible,’ he said.
Cauchi stabbed to death four women -believed to be aged between 20 and 55 – and a man aged in his 30s before the first police officer on the scene, Inspector Amy Scott, shot him dead
Mr Taylor said some retail staff would have received training in lock-downs and drilled for potential attacks by armed offenders.
‘We hope that we’re never going to have to deal with these sort of things but that’s one of the reasons why we spend so much time on it,’ he said.
‘It will spark some more conversations and actions Some more communication and awareness I think will be of benefit.’
Daily Mail Australia has attempted to contact Westfield’s owner Scentre Group, whose CEO Elliott Rusanow issued a brief statement on Saturday night.
‘Scentre Group extends its deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those impacted by today’s tragedy at Westfield Bondi,’ Mr Rusanow said.
‘We extend our deep appreciation for the swift and brave action of our team and first responders.
‘Our team continues to provide full assistance to the NSW emergency services response.’
A woman lays flowers at a makeshift shrine forming outside Bondi Junction Westfield in the wake of Saturday’s mass stabbing
Bondi Junction Westfield has been the scene of a number of tragic deaths in recent years.
Retired barber Bernard ‘Butch’ Gore was found dead in a fire stairwell 21 days after he arranged to meet his wife at the shopping centre for lunch in January 2017.
A post-mortem examination revealed the 71-year-old, who had dementia, suffered no obvious traumatic injury.
A coroner later found the ‘psychological, environmental and physiological stressors’ Mr Gore experienced while stuck inside the stairwell were ‘possible significant contributors to his death’.
Those factors along with ‘identified shortcomings and inadequacies associated with the efforts to locate Bernard,’ led to the conclusion Mr Gore’s death was not entirely due to natural causes, but a result of misadventure.
When Mr Gore failed to meet his wife in the shopping centre she searched his favourite spots before calling police.
That evening the couple’s daughter visited Westfield and provided two security officers with information about her father.
CCTV footage was viewed and the security officers searched the mall area including the lifts, escalators, toilets, dock areas and garbage rooms – but not the fire stairs.
In April 2020 a man plunged to his death at Bondi Junction Westfield after jumping over a railing in what police ruled was a suicide.
A month later another person died after falling over a barrier on the mezzanine level.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk