The family of the man who carried out the fatal stabbing attack at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction expressed their grief and stressed his mental health issues.
Six people were killed by 40-year-old Joel Cauchi during the violent confrontation.
The victims included the daughter of a prominent businessman, Ashlee Good, 38; Dawn Singleton, 25; her mother, Pikria Darchia, 55; Faraz Tahir, 30; and a security guard named as Yixuan Cheng, 27.
The Chinese Embassy was contacted by NSW Police about the identity of the sixth victim.
During the attack, Cauchi stabbed twelve people. Five of them remain in critical condition, while three others are in stable condition.
He was shot and killed by a police officer, Amy Scott, after he lunged toward her with a knife. Cauchi’s father said his son was a monster.
Cauchi referred to his son as a monster, but he said he was a sick individual.
His wife delivered flowers to their home on Monday as the couple tried to come to terms with the tragic incident.
Mr Cauchi said he could not explain how his son could do such a thing.
Cauchi said he was devastated by the incident. He revealed that his son had been struggling with mental illness for a long time.
He said that, after he was diagnosed, he became his servant.
Joel had been taking medication for his mental health issues, but he stopped after he was able to do so well.
His family is waiting for the NSW Police to arrive and talk to them about the incident.
Michele and Andrew, the parents of Cauchi, were busy Monday doing their chores as they awaited the arrival of NSW Police detectives.
It’s not clear when the officers will reach their home at Rockville, which is about 130 kilometers west of Brisbane.
A well-wisher had also delivered a bouquet of flowers to the family’s home.
For over four decades, the Cauchi family has lived in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Darling Downs.
They refused to comment on the incident when contacted by the media on Monday.
The family had previously released a statement expressing their condolences to the victims’ families.
In the statement, the family said that Joel had been struggling with mental health issues for a long time.
They noted that they were in contact with the Queensland and NSW Police Services. They also stated that they had no issues with the officer who shot their son.
According to police in both states, the Cauchi family is co-operating. The family contacted the police after seeing footage of the attack on television. They believed that Joel was the attacker.