On Saturday afternoon, a man armed with a knife killed six people and injured at least 12 more during a stabbing spree at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall in Sydney, Australia, in one of the country’s bloodiest acts of mass violence since 2017.
The killer was shot dead afterwards by a police officer.
The victims, five women and a man, died from their injuries either on the spot or later at the hospital. A 9-month-old baby was among the injured casualties, whom were critical but are stabilizing now.
On Sunday, police identified the attacker as Joel Cauchi, 40, from Queensland, which is more than 1,000 miles north of Bondi Junction. Commissioner Cooke stated that the police suspected he arrived in Sydney last month.
The brutality of the rampage, which occurred over the weekend in an area crowded with families, children and beachgoers, shocked Australians.
Mass shootings are uncommon in the country, which has strong gun control policies. The latest 2017 mass killing was caused by a driver mowing down pedestrians with his car in Melbourne.