Sydney and Australia are in shock after a man fatally stabbed six people, including local mother Ash Good, and left others critically injured at Westfield Bondi Junction Shopping Centre in the city’s east on Saturday afternoon.
The attacker was later shot and killed by police.
Horrifically injured in the stabbing, Good passed her injured nine-month baby into the arms of strangers and begged them to help her before she lost consciousness, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported.
Good later died of her injuries while her daughter Harriet remains in hospital after undergoing surgery on Saturday night, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters.
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 am so sorry you have been robbed ash, another women taken by the hands of a man. I don’t even know you but what I would do to bring you back,” posted another woman, Rianna Read.
‘Horrific act of violence’
Speaking in Canberra on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Anthony 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.
King Charles added he and Queen Camilla are “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.
“While details of these shocking circumstances are still emerging, our thoughts are also with those who were involved in the response, and we give thanks for the bravery of the first responders and emergency services.”
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”.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the AFP were assisting the NSW Police in their investigations into the “mass casualty event”, including digital forensics.
“It is too early to establish a motive and it would be unhelpful to speculate,” he said.
Kershaw also strongly expressed that it was “too early” to say whether the attack was an act of terrorism.
“It would appear that this person acted alone,” Albanese said. “We understand that the Australian public will be very shocked by this event.”
Both men expressed condolences to the victims and their loved ones.
