Questions raised about Bondi Junction killer Joel Cauchi’s motive – as police claim he ‘definitely targeted women’

Police believe killer Joel Cauchi was ‘targeting women’ after fatally stabbing six people in a Bondi Junction Westfields rampage.

Cauchi, 40, murdered six innocent people and left others seriously injured after he entered the mall at around 3.20pm on Saturday with a 30cm knife.

The attack ended when NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who was patrolling nearby, sprinted into the center and single-handedly confronted Cauchi before shooting him dead.

His victims included five women and one man – Ashlee Good, a mother whose nine-month-old daughter was also stabbed; Dawn Singleton, daughter of multimillionaire advertising guru John Singleton; mother of two and architect Jade Young; Bondi Junction woman Pikria Darchia and Westfield security guard and refugee Faraz Tahi.

The 40-year-old’s motives are yet to be confirmed, but a police source claims investigators believe Cauchi was ‘definitely targeting women’.

The source explained that police have seen extensive footage of Cauchi’s movements through the mall and observed him selecting his victims.

“I don’t think there’s any other way to look at it,” the source told the newspaper Daily Telegraph.

‘You can see in the footage that he is walking past other people. He just keeps moving past them and then attacks a woman’.

Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed on Sunday that Cauchi’s motive for attacking the woman was an “open line of inquiry”.

Cauchi was known to police and had lived sporadically in Sydney over the past few years.

In June 2023, officers stopped Cauchi in The Rocks for suspicious behavior before searching him and letting him go.

Cauchi was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 17 and is understood to have a history of being obsessed with knives.

While living with his parents in Toowoomba in south-east Queensland, they became so concerned about his fixation that they took his knives from him.

His parents, Andrew and Michele, both in their 70s, declined to speak to the media after describing their son’s stabbing as ‘truly horrific’.

The devastated couple recognized their son from footage on TV and made a frantic phone call to the police.

The Cauchis said in their statement on Sunday that they have ‘no problem’ with the actions of Inspector Scott or the actions of the NSW Police.

“We are completely devastated by the traumatic events that took place in Sydney yesterday,” they said.

‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims and those still undergoing treatment at this time.

“Joel’s actions were truly horrific and we are still trying to understand what happened.

‘He has struggled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.

“We are in contact with both the New South Wales Police Force and the Queensland Police Service and have no problem with the police officer who shot our son as she was only doing her job to protect others and we hope she is doing well.”

The Cauchis have lived in the Toowoomba suburb of Rockville for 46 years, and last saw their son a few months ago when the 40-year-old went home for Christmas.

Police are currently searching through a ‘very small storage facility’ in Sydney that Cauchi rented out shortly after moving from Brisbane to Sydney.

He reportedly slept poorly and had no fixed address.

Just six days before the attack, Cauchi invited Sydneysiders to join him for a surf at Bondi Beach in a post shared on a Facebook group for beginner surfers.

Cauchi wrote: ‘Hi I’m surfing Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there for a surf!’

In another post, shared in December 2020 to an outdoor adventure Facebook group for Brisbane residents, Cauchi explained that he wanted to meet with people who shoot guns.

‘Hi, I’m looking for groups of people who shoot guns, including handguns, to meet, chat and get to know. Send me a DM if you can help me! By the way I live in Brisbane,’ Cauchi wrote.

Social media users noticed the alarming post hours after Cauchi was identified by police.

“Thank God you didn’t get your hands on a gun… the devastation you’ve caused is horrific enough,” one person wrote.