Australia investigates why the man who killed 6 people in Sydney attacked women

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian police were investigating why the attacker who killed six people and injured more than a dozen with a knife in a Sydney shopping center attacked women while avoiding men, a police officer said Monday. .

Police shot dead the attacker, Joel Cauchi during the attack at the bustling Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center on Saturday, near the famous Bondi Beach.

Police have ruled out terrorism and said the attacker, 40, had a history of mental health problems.

New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb said detectives would question Cauchi’s family in an attempt to determine his motives. Images from the mall’s security cameras showed how Cauchi had directed his attacks against the women.

“The videos speak for themselves, don’t they? And certainly that is a line of inquiry for us,” Webb told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“It’s clear to me, it’s clear to the detectives, that this seems to be an issue of interest: that the offender focused on women and avoided men,” he added.

The only man killed was Faraz Tahir, a Pakistani refugee who worked at the mall as a security guard. Tahir was not armed.

Most of the 12 victims who survived their injuries were also women, Webb said.

The evidence will be handed over to a coroner to prepare a report on the circumstances of the deaths.

Webb expected the coroner would also address the question of whether security guards at the shopping centre, one of Australia’s largest, should be armed.

The families of two victims living abroad were informed of their deaths, police said. Those deceased were Tahir, 30 years old and originally from Pakistan, and Yixuan Cheng, 27 years old and from China. Also killed were Jade Young, 47; Dawn Singleton, 25; Pikria Darchia, 55, and Ashlee Good, 38.

Eight victims who survived their injuries remained hospitalized Monday, including Good’s 9-month-old daughter. The baby’s condition improved overnight Sunday from critical to serious, according to health authorities.

The condition of the other seven victims ranged from critical to stable.

Flags flew at half-mast on Monday at official buildings in Australia, on a day of national mourning for the victims. A black ribbon would be placed on the sails of the Sydney Opera House on Monday night as part of a light show.

Police had returned control of the crime scene, a seven-story building, to the establishment’s operators on Sunday night, although it had not yet been announced when it would reopen to the public.

The police officer credited with saving many lives by killing Cauchi, Inspector Amy Scott, was to be interviewed by detectives on Tuesday.