6 Killed in Sydney Shopping Mall Stabbing Attack
- AP Photo/Rick Rycroft
Video footage taken by a witness showed many people fleeing as a knife-wielding Cauchi ran erratically through the shopping mall and lunging at people.
“When I took my footage it, was about 15 seconds maybe before he was shot by the police officer and he’d already killed a number of people at that point but we didn’t know and we had no idea what was going on,” said Rohan Anderson, who had entered the shopping center just moments before the attack.
"We just saw a person on the level below us, with a knife, running around and you just sit in disbelief that this is happening in Australia, in Bondi,” he conveyed.
Other footage showed a man confronting the attacker on an escalator in the shopping center by holding what appeared to be a metal pole.
Inspector Amy Scott, who was the first emergency responder on the scene, shot and killed Cauchi.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the officer was certainly a hero whose actions had saved many more lives.
“The wonderful inspector who ran into danger by herself and removed the threat that was there to others, without thinking about the risks to herself,” he remarked.
“We also see the footage of ordinary Australians putting themselves in harm’s way in order to help their fellow citizens. That bravery was quite extraordinary that we saw yesterday,” he continued.
In a written statement later Sunday, Cauchi’s family said they were devastated by Saturday’s events and they had no issue with Scott shooting their son, saying "she was only doing her job to protect others,"
“Joel’s actions were truly horrific, and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened,” the statement read.
“He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager,"
