Sydney mall stabber had mental illness

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian police on Sunday said a 40-year-old itinerant with mental illness was behind a Sydney shopping center stabbing rampage that killed six people, including a new mum whose nine-month-old baby is still in hospital with serious wounds.

New South Wales police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said the assailant — who was shot dead by a senior police officer at the scene on Saturday — was Queensland man Joel Cauchi.

Five women and one male security guard were killed in the attack as Cauchi roved through a packed shopping center in the city’s Bondi Junction neighborhood with a large knife. Twelve more people are still in hospital.

“The sound of people screaming was horrific,” said eyewitness Daphi Kiselstein, who was shopping at the time of the attack and took refuge in a store with other terrified people.

Cooke said there was no evidence to suggest Cauchi was “driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise.”

“We know that the offender in the matter suffered from, suffers from, mental health,” he added.

Cauchi was tracked down and shot dead by solo senior police officer Amy Scott, who was instantly hailed by Australia’s prime minister as a “hero” who had saved countless lives.

Cauchi’s parents said their son had been living in a vehicle and hostels of late, and was only in sporadic contact via text messages.

Police said he was diagnosed with a mental health issue at age 17, but they had no indication about why he may have become violent.

His parents issued a statement through police offering condolences to their son’s victims and their families.

They had also sent a message of “support” to the officer who shot him dead, “expressing their concerns for her welfare.”

Queensland police said Cauchi had been in contact with police several times over the last four to five years but has never been arrested or charged with any offense.

He is believed to have travelled to Sydney about a month ago and hired a small storage unit in the city. It contained personal belongings, including a boogie board.

Mom and baby

Witnesses say a fatally wounded mother handed over her injured nine-month-old baby to a stranger to save the infant’s life.

The harrowing story of 38-year-old mother Ashlee Good’s desperate final act to save her baby daughter Harriet has struck a chord with many shocked Australians.

Witnesses told local media she was heard screaming when the assailant approached her in the shopping complex.

“The baby got stabbed,” one man at the scene with his brother told Channel 9 News in the aftermath of the attack.

“The mum got stabbed and the mum came over with the baby and threw it at me,” he said.

Within hours of the attack, police said the toll had climbed to six after Good died in hospital.

Her baby is still in “a serious but stable condition” in hospital, New South Wales police assistant commissioner Anthony Cooke said Sunday.