Six people dead

Sydney: Perpetrator probably deliberately stabbed women

The mourning for the victims is great. The attacker had apparently targeted women.

(Bild: AP)

The knife attacker in Sydney apparently targeted women. The perpetrator, who killed six people and injured several others in a popular shopping center on Saturday, apparently "focused on women and avoided men" during his attack, according to the latest findings of investigators, New South Wales State Police Commissioner Karen Webb told the ABC television station on Monday. 

The reason for this assumption, which is now also the focus of the investigation, is footage of the attack. Surveillance videos showed the attacker running through the shopping center with a long knife, chasing mostly female victims. The videos "speak for themselves", said Webb.

Investigation still ongoing
In order to gain further insight, it is now important for the investigators to question people from the perpetrator's circle of acquaintances in detail.

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Fotos

The man killed six people and injured several others in the busy Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in the east of the Australian metropolis on Saturday afternoon before being shot dead by a policewoman. According to Police Commissioner Webb, the victims were five women and one man.

Victims now identified
According to the latest information, a Chinese student was among the victims. The young woman is the last of the victims to be identified after Saturday's attack.

Twelve people were also hospitalized, including a baby. According to media reports, the mother had handed her nine-month-old baby to a passer-by before being stabbed herself. The baby had to undergo emergency surgery and was in a "serious but stable condition", according to the police.

Attacker suffered from mental illness
The man killed by the attacker was a 30-year-old man from Pakistan who worked as a security guard, according to representatives of the Pakistani community. The police later identified the perpetrator as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi. He was known to the authorities and had been suffering from a mental illness.

Officials ruled out a terrorist background. So far, there is "nothing" that points to an "ideology" as the motivation for his bloody deed, they said.

Policewoman shoots perpetrator
The attacker was stopped after his violent attack, which lasted around half an hour, by policewoman Amy Scott, who stood in his way alone and shot him dead. She was celebrated by her colleagues and politicians as a hero who had prevented further bloodshed. Scott is currently spending time with her family and trying to come to terms with the "very traumatic experiences", said Police Commissioner Webb.

Parents: "Trying to understand what happened"
The parents of the assassin condemned his actions and expressed their sympathy to the relatives of the victims. "We are still trying to understand what happened", they explained. Their son had been "very ill". At the same time, they assured policewoman Scott of their understanding: "She was only doing her job to protect others. We hope she is doing well."

He wanted a girlfriend, but he had no social skills and was frustrated.

Der Vater des Messerangreifers von Sydney

The father also spoke to journalists outside the house and offered a guess as to why his son apparently attacked women in particular: "He wanted a girlfriend, but he had no social skills and was frustrated."

Meanwhile, the victims were remembered across the country, with flags flying at half-mast. A sea of flowers lay in front of the shopping center and a black mourning ribbon was projected onto the Sydney Opera House.