Parents of Sydney knife attacker Joel Cauchi ‘extremely sorry’ after son kills six in mall rampage
The parents of the Sydney stabbings attacker have said they are “extremely sorry” after their son killed six people at a mall in Bondi.
Joel Cauchi, 40, roamed through the busy Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday with a large knife, killing six people and injuring 12 others, including a nine-month old baby.
He was shot and killed by Inspector Amy Scott, who confronted him alone on the fifth floor after a pursuit through the mall.
Speaking on Monday outside their home, Andrew Cauchi said he was “extremely sorry” to the victims of his son’s attack and that he was “heartbroken” for their loss.
The 76-year-old said: “I made myself a servant to my son when I found out he had a mental illness.
“He’s my son. And I’m loving a monster – to you, he’s a monster. To me, he was a very sick boy.”
Mr Cauchi said his son had a long history of mental illness.
“He wanted a girlfriend and he has no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain,” he added.
Mr Cauchi said he had taken five US army knives from his son when Joel visited him last year as he feared he could get stabbed.
The comments came hours after senior police officers said they were investigating the possibility the attacker had focused on women.
“It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to detectives that seems to be an area of interest that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men,” New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“The videos speak for themselves, don’t they? That’s certainly a line for inquiry for us.”
The only man killed during the attack was 30-year-old security guard, Faraz Tahir, who had arrived in Australia last year as a refugee from Pakistan, according to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia, to which he belonged.
Thousands of flowers and wreaths lay in a makeshift memorial outside the mall on Monday as hundreds came from across the city to honour those killed.
