The father of the man who carried out the deadly attack at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction mall said he couldn’t believe his son was capable of such an act.
He was shot and killed by police after he attacked shoppers. Most of the victims were women.
Andrew Cauchi said he tried to help his son, who was mentally ill, after he was diagnosed when he was 17 years old.
However, he had no idea what prompted the attack. He described his son as a beautiful boy before the incident.
The father described his son as a monster, and he was devastated by the incident.
He said he could not bring back the victims, but he was still broken for their families. His wife, Michele, also apologized for the actions of her son.
She stated that if the gunman was in his right mindset, he would have been devastated by what he had done. Michele also spoke about her son’s mental health issues, and said that he would often stay at home until he reached the age of 35. He stopped taking his medication before moving to Brisbane.
She also stated that people with mental illnesses often feel poorly because of their medication. She explained that a condition known as mental illness prevents the brain from functioning properly. If a person doesn’t know that they’re sick, why would they take their medication? Michele believes that Cauchi was not in his right mind when he carried out the attack.
Being a parent of a mentally ill child is an absolute nightmare, Michele said. She added that she felt sorry for the victims of the attack. Andrew said that Cauchi was suffering from a psychotic condition. He said that he was frustrated by his son’s lack of social skills and was hoping to find a girlfriend.
Cauchi had stopped taking his medication due to how well he was doing, but he then decided to move to Brisbane. He had been living in Queensland for several years before moving to Sydney in March. It’s believed that he had been living rough, and he had been sleeping in backpacker hostels and cars.
Cauchi, who was 40 years old, reportedly had a fascination with weapons. According to Andrew, he once confiscated some of his son’s combat knives, which he then became infuriated and called the cops. The couple contacted the police on Saturday after seeing their son in footage of the mall attack.
Andrew said that he was stunned by the videos. The couple released a statement on Sunday, calling the gunman’s actions “horrific” and describing the incident as a “senseless act.” They also noted that they were in regular communication with the police in both Queensland and NSW.
The family noted that she was only doing her job by protecting the others. According to her neighbors, Cauchi had a history of mental illness and had an ongoing feud with his parents. The police in Queensland had no contact with him after he was spotted on the Gold Coast in December.
Roger Lowe, the assistant commissioner of police in Queensland, revealed that the police had been in regular communication with Cauchi over the past couple of years, and they believed that his mental health had started to deteriorate. He also noted that the gunman had not been charged with any crime.
A spokesperson for Queensland Health revealed that Cauchi had been receiving treatment for his mental health issues for over a decade. He was eventually sent to a psychiatrist in 2012.