Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office announced that all Australian government buildings would lower flags today “as a mark of mourning and respect”.
The flags will be lowered to half-mast from sunrise today.
Tributes are piling up for the six victims, including flowers and wreaths outside the Westfield in Bondi where the killings took place.
Five of the victims have now been identified, with families, loved ones, and employers offering statements of grief.
Pikria Darchia, Dawn Singleton, Jade Young, and Faraz Tahir all died in the shopping centre, while Ashlee Good died later in hospital.
Police continue to dig into the lift of killer Joel Cauchi, 40, who embarked on a bloody rampage through the shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
Cauchi moved to New South Wales from Queensland last month, police say.
Investigators have spoken to his family, and they are cooperating with police.
Cauchi’s family also condemned the killer’s actions as “horrific”.
Cauchi was known to police and had suffered from mental health issues, which police said yesterday were believed to be linked to the attack.
Cauchi fatally wounded six people, and sent at least a dozen more to hospital, including Good’s nine-month-old baby girl.
He was shot dead by police officer Inspector Amy Scott, who confronted him after entering the shopping centre alone.
“I was behind the police officer when she discharged a firearm,” one witness told 9News.
“And, I have to admit, she was amazing. She gave him clear instructions. He went, lunged straight at her, and she shot him.
“She went straight from shooting this guy to giving CPR.
“And then what she did is she went to straight to policing. She moved people away. The best in this state.”
Police yesterday asked for any witnesses, or anybody with footage of the deadly stabbing spree, to contact investigators through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Buildings illuminated for victims of Sydney shopping centre stabbing
- Six people have been killed in a mass stabbing attack at Westfield shopping centre at Bondi Junction in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
- The man, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott at the scene. Police do not believe he acted “with ideation”.
- Twelve people were taken to hospital, though police said others may have presented independently with minor injuries.
- Five women and one man were killed in the attack, which also left a dozen injured.
- They include Faraz Tahir, 30, a refugee who started working as a security guard that day; Ashlee Good, 38, a mum whose baby was also stabbed; Dawn Singleton 25, a shop worker and daughter of businessman John Singleton, architect and mother-of-two Jade Young, 47, and Pikria Darchia, 55.
- Three people – a woman, man and a nine-month-old baby girl – remain in a critical condition.
- Eight others are stable and one woman has been discharged from hospital.
- Details are emerging of heroic acts by shoppers who tried to help as the rampage unfolded.
- Mobile phone footage shows crowds hiding in stairwells, with other shoppers saying they were evacuated to the roof and others cowered in shops.
- The shopping centre will remain closed on Monday as police work through the crime scene.
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