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Key points
- An inquest will investigate the Bondi Junction attack with the aim of preventing a similar tragedy.
- It will be investigated whether early intervention could have prevented the attack.
- How the victims, who were predominantly women, were chosen will be one of the aspects examined.
Missed opportunities to stop a mass stabbing at a major shopping center will be examined at an inquest as the family of those killed learned the attacker had stopped receiving treatment for a serious mental illness years earlier.
during Saturday trading at the busy Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney's eastern suburbs in April.
Counsel representing Peggy Dwyer SC told an initial hearing on Tuesday that Cauchi stopped receiving treatment for schizophrenia from early 2020, leaving him homeless and wandering between his home state of Queensland and NSW.
“The evidence suggests a deterioration in his mental health during that time,” she said.
The inquest, which will take place in April and May 2025, will examine, among other things, whether early intervention could have prevented the attack, which ended with Cauchi being shot dead by a police officer.
It will also examine the response of security officers and emergency services to the attack and consider making recommendations for improvements.
were all killed in the attack.
At least 10 others were taken to hospital with stab wounds, including a nine-month-old baby who was released after treatment.
Singleton was the first to be killed as she waited in line at a bakery after Cauchi pulled out a large Ka-bar knife, the type used by U.S. Marines, and stabbed her just after 3:30 p.m.
From there, he stabbed or attempted to stab someone he came near, Dwyer said.
“Within three minutes, 16 people were stabbed and injured in seemingly random attacks,” she said.
How the victims, who were mainly women, were chosen would be one of the aspects examined, Dwyer added.
Good was struck once before turning to see Cauchi attacking her baby in a stroller.
“She ran at him and fought him off, causing another stab wound,” Dwyer said.
NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott put an end to Cauchi's rampage when she fired three shots at him on level five of the complex as shoppers fled, hitting him twice, in the neck and shoulder.
Only five minutes and 43 seconds passed between the start of the attack and the time the 40-year-old was shot dead.
Tahir's siblings Sheraz and Muzafar Ahmad said they planned to review CCTV footage of the attack to better understand what happened to their brother.
“He was on duty at the time and tried to stop the attacker – and he took his own life,” younger brother Sheraz Ahmad Tahir said outside the courtroom.
Muzafar Ahmad (centre) and Sheraz Ahmad (right), brothers of victim Faraz Tahir, spoke to the media outside the NSW Coroners Court in Sydney on Tuesday. Source: MONKEY / Bianca De Marchi
NSW State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan extended her condolences to all the loved ones of those who were killed.
“The events of April 13 remain raw and painful for everyone affected,” she said.
There was significant public interest in how major companies like Scentre Group, which operated the mall, prepared for high-casualty events, Dwyer said.
It was expected from the evidence that an alarm was not sounded in downtown Westfield until about a minute after Cauchi was shot and more than seven minutes after the first victim was attacked.
Such mass casualty events were rare in Australia and could reveal shortcomings or flaws in the systems designed to deal with them, Dwyer said.
“When they happen, they happen quickly and they cause chaos,” she said.
“They provide the opportunity to learn with a view to saving lives… in the future”
The inquest runs from April 28 to May 30.
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