Five women aged between 20 and 55 and a 30-year-old male security guard from Pakistan were killed after a man went on a stabbing spree in a busy Sydney shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
At least 12 others – including nine women – were hospitalised after suffering knife wounds in the attack, although some had been discharged by Sunday afternoon.
The lone attacker was shot and killed by a police officer at the scene and there is no ongoing threat to the community, police say.
One of those killed at Westfield Bondi Junction Shopping Centre on Saturday was Faraz Tahir, who “sought refuge in Australia only a year ago, fleeing persecution in his home country of Pakistan”, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia said.
“It is with heavy hearts that we also mourn the loss of Faraz Tahir, a cherished member of our community and a dedicated security guard who tragically lost his life while serving the public during this attack,” the community said in a statement on Sunday.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Australia, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, paid tribute to Tahir, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The victims of yesterday’s horrific attacks included a Pakistani citizen, Faraz Ahmed, who lost his life while saving others,” Chaudhri said.
“Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with his family. We are working with the family for the reparation of his mortal remains to Pakistan.
“Another Pakistani citizen got injured during the horrific attacks. He is hospitalised but is in a stable condition. We pray for his fast and full recovery.”
NSW Police has also named 55-year-old Pikria Darchia as a victim of the stabbing attacks.
Darchia was originally from Tbilisi in Georgia, and a LinkedIn profile suggests she was an artist. Her family has requested privacy.
Bondi Junction stabbing victim, 55-year-old Pikria Darchia. Source: AAP / Supplied Image
Another victim was 25-year-old Dawn Singleton, daughter of Australian businessman John Singleton, who worked as an e-commerce assistant at Sydney-based fashion label White Fox Boutique, according to her LinkedIn profile, and had previously studied digital and social media at the University of Technology Sydney.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, White Fox Boutique said Dawn “was a sweet, kind hearted person who had her whole life ahead of her”.
Architect Jade Young, who worked nearby in Double Bay, was named as another victim by multiple media outlets.
Jade Young was one of the six victims killed in the stabbing attack on Saturday. Source: AAP / Image
A fourth victim was local mother and begged them to help her before losing consciousness.
The Sydney osteopath was rushed to nearby St Vincent’s Hospital in a critical condition, but she later died from her multiple injuries. Her daughter Harriet remains in a critical condition at the Children’s Hospital in Randwick after undergoing surgery on Saturday night.
The sixth victim has yet to be identified. Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said two of the victims seemed to have no family in Australia.
Family pays tribute to ‘an outstanding human’
Good’s family released a statement to the media on Sunday, describing Good as an “outstanding human” and saying her baby daughter was “doing well”.
“Today we are reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all round, outstanding human, and so much more,” the family said.
A supplied image of 38-year-old Ashlee Good who was fatally stabbed at Bondi Junction. Source: Supplied / PR IMAGE
“We appreciate the well wishes and thoughts of members of the Australian public who have expressed an outpouring of love for Ashlee and our baby girl.
“We can report that after hours of surgery yesterday. Our baby is doing well. We are so grateful for the expert care and attention of the medical team at Sydney Children’s Hospital.”
The family also thanked the emergency responders and the two men who had cared for Good’s baby daughter.
“The two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not – words cannot express our gratitude. We are struggling to come to terms with what has occurred. We would appreciate peace and privacy while we work through this as a family.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre left) and NSW Premier Chris Minns (centre right) join other politicians as they lay flowers at the scene of yesterday’s mass stabbing at Bondi Junction, Sydney. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
Tributes for the first-time mum flooded social media, with one friend saying Good “was a beautiful soul”.
“I have not slept, I feel completely sick I can not believe it,” said Marissa Katharina on Facebook. “To hear this and what has happened to you and your beautiful baby girl Harriet – I am beyond devastated. How does this even happen and why. You were spending a day at the shopping centre completely innocent and now taken away by evil. I can not comprehend this news at all! I am so sorry! I am so sorry to your beautiful family Just why! I’m am so heartbroken.”
“I’m in disbelief… I’m so angry, sad, SHOCKED, HEARTBROKEN for Ash’s family,” added another friend Emma Makila. “How can the world be like this? How can a woman so special, so giving, loving and would do anything for anyone die like this? How can there be such evil within human beings like this?”
Locals were seen creating a floral tribute close to the shopping centre on Sunday, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also laying a wreath at the scene on Sunday afternoon.
Premier labels attack ‘horrifying’ and ‘violent’
NSW premier Chris Minns on Sunday said Sydney had “suffered a horrifying and violent attack on innocent people”.
“The individual stories of those who’ve been killed, the complete strangers rushing in to help, as well as acts of courage, and bravery mean that whether you know the individuals who’ve been killed or not, you’re grieving today, and the entire state will have to get behind those families in the days ahead as they recover and they go through the inevitable grief associated with such a horrifying, horrifying event.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns speaks to media at Bondi Junction in Sydney following a fatal stabbing spree in a shopping centre. Source: AAP / Rick Rycroft/AP
Speaking in Canberra on Saturday evening, Albanese condemned the “devastating scenes” were “beyond words or understanding”.
“Australians will be shocked to see them,” he said, adding that the attack was “indiscriminate”.
Albanese hailed the heroic actions of police, first responders and the “everyday people” who stepped into the crisis to help. He also praised the doctors and nurses who are taking care of the wounded.
Flags across the country to be flown at half-mast
Albanese also requested for the Australian flag to be flown at half-mast on all government buildings in honour of the six Bondi Junction victims.
The government says it’s a sign of mourning and respect and that other organisations are welcome to participate.
“As a mark of mourning and respect and in accordance with protocol, the Australian National Flag should be flown at half-mast on Monday, 15 April 2024 from all buildings and establishments occupied by Australian Government departments and affiliated agencies,” the Commonwealth Flag Officer said in a statement on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said monuments in the state would be lit up on Sunday night in tribute to those killed at Bondi Junction.
“Tonight, monuments across our state will be lit up in tribute to those lost in yesterday’s horrific events in Bondi. Nothing we can do or say can help make sense of this senseless tragedy. But Victorians are sending love and light to the people of NSW in this moment of darkness,” she said.
King Charles said he and Queen Camilla were “utterly shocked and horrified” by the “senseless attack” in Sydney.
In a statement, the King said: “My wife and I were utterly shocked and horrified to hear of the tragic stabbing incident in Bondi.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who have been so brutally killed during such a senseless attack.”
In a personal social media post, Prince William and his wife Kate said they were “shocked and saddened” by the stabbings, adding that their thoughts are with those affected and the “heroic emergency responders who risked their own lives to save others”.
‘A mass of people running’
Hundreds of people in the shopping centre at the time of the attack on Saturday afternoon were still struggling to process the terrifying scenes.
SBS News presenter Ricardo Gonçalves was at the shopping centre when the incident took place.
“We saw people scurrying and then I heard what sounded like gunshots very close by – if I was to guess, 20 metres away,” Gonçalves told SBS News. “And then we just ran; we bolted with everyone else. There was this mass of people running… Hundreds. Everyone.”
Gonçalves said he had one thought in mind: “Just get to safety.”
About 20 minutes earlier, he added, he had heard what sounded like an argument with “a lot of screaming.”
“It sounded like someone was getting hurt,” he said.
Other witnesses spoke of the heroic actions of shop workers, who took shoppers into their stores and locked the doors for safety. Domenico Gentile from SBS Audio’s Italian program was one of them.
“I was there when I heard these three shots, and I felt immediately the panic that followed and the shops closing down,” he told SBS News. “After that, we all took refuge wherever we could because there was no direction. There was no police at the time. I went into a Harris Farm.
“We were evacuated and as soon as I got out, I immediately saw the massive presence of police, the ambulances and so on.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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– With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press.
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