Matt Shirvington asks whether there was enough security at Bondi Junction Westfield before mass fatal stabbings
The shock of what happened at Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon turned to anger on Sunday as questions were raised about how one man could stab six people to death.
Sunrise host Matt Shirvington told viewers he could sense the change in mood as he spoke to locals outside the mall about Joel Cauchi’s murderous rampage.
‘People [are] asking questions about why,” Shirvington told colleague Michael Usher in the Network Seven studio.
“How can this man carry a knife into a busy shopping center where we know there is security and just start stabbing people?”
Sunrise presenter Matt Shirvington (above) said questions needed to be answered about how lone knifeman Joel Cauchi killed six people at Bondi Junction Westfield. Two security guards were reportedly among the dead
Police were called to Bondi Junction Westfield at 3.20pm on Saturday after 40-year-old Cauchi began chasing men, women and children with a knife.
He stabbed to death four women – believed to be aged between 20 and 55 – and a man in his 30s before the first police officer on the scene, Inspector Amy Scott, shot him dead.
Two of the dead were security guards who were on duty at the time of the attacks.
A fifth woman, Ashlee Good, died in hospital from her injuries. Among the dead was Dawn Singleton, the 25-year-old daughter of multimillionaire John Singleton.
Twelve others – including nine women, two men and Ms Good’s nine-month-old brown Harriet – who suffered stab wounds were treated by paramedics and taken to various hospitals in Sydney.
Cauchi, who had been treated for schizophrenia, moved from Queensland to Sydney only a month ago and was known to police in his home state.
“We don’t fully understand what happened between last month in Queensland and here in NSW, and what kind of treatment he may have received, if at all,” Shirvington said.
‘So questions are being asked about that.
“People are asking questions about why,” Shirvington told fellow presenter Michael Usher in the Network Seven studio. “How can this man carry a knife into a busy shopping center where we know there is security and just start stabbing people?” The police were photographed at the scene
‘Questions are also asked about the protocols and whether there was sufficient security. That’s the other issue. But that will of course be further investigated later in the process.’
Usher agreed with his colleague that there were questions that needed to be answered about security arrangements and the handling of Cauchi’s mental health.
“I think that’s legit,” he said. ‘I doubted it last night when I watched the whole thing. I mean, there are guards everywhere these days.”
Security expert Scott Taylor told Shirvington there would be “many more discussions” about the effectiveness of protection measures in shopping centers following Saturday’s deaths.
Mr Taylor believed individual shopkeepers in Westfield had saved ‘several’ lives by locking customers inside the door and pulling down the shutters.
“The actions of the retailers were just incredible,” he said.
Cauchi stabbed to death four women – believed to be aged between 20 and 55 – and a man in his 30s before the first police officer on the scene, Inspector Amy Scott, shot him dead
Mr Taylor said some of the store’s staff would have undergone lock-down training and drilled for possible attacks by armed offenders.
“We hope we never have to deal with this kind of thing, but that’s one of the reasons we spend so much time on it,” he said.
‘It will lead to even more conversations and actions. I think some more communication and awareness will be helpful.”
Daily Mail Australia has attempted to contact Westfield’s owner Scentre Group, whose CEO Elliott Rusanow issued a brief statement on Saturday evening.
“Scentre Group extends its deepest and most sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those affected by today’s tragedy at Westfield Bondi,” Mr Rusanow said.
“We express our deep appreciation for the quick and courageous action of our team and first responders.
“Our team continues to provide full assistance to the NSW Emergency Services response.”
A woman lays flowers at a makeshift shrine forming outside Bondi Junction Westfield in the aftermath of Saturday’s mass stabbing
Bondi Junction Westfield has been the scene of a number of tragic deaths in recent years.
Retired hairdresser Bernard ‘Butch’ Gore was found dead in a stairwell 21 days after meeting his wife at the mall for lunch in January 2017.
A post-mortem examination revealed that the 71-year-old, who suffered from dementia, had suffered no apparent traumatic injuries.
A coroner later found that the “psychological, environmental and physiological stressors” Gore experienced while trapped in the stairwell “may have been significant contributors to his death.”
These factors, together with “identified deficiencies and deficiencies in connection with efforts to locate Bernard,” led to the conclusion that Mr. Gore’s death was not entirely due to natural causes, but to misadventure.
When Mr. Gore failed to meet his wife at the mall, she searched his favorite spots before calling the police.
That evening, the couple’s daughter visited Westfield and provided two security officers with information about her father.
CCTV footage was reviewed and security officers searched the shopping centre, including the lifts, escalators, toilets, dock areas and waste areas – but not the fire escapes.
In April 2020, a man plunged to his death at Bondi Junction Westfield after jumping over a railing, which police ruled was a suicide.
A month later, another person died after falling over a mezzanine barrier.