Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing: Chilling moment surfer realises he was talking to the killer before his deadly attack – and the knifeman’s begging plea

The man who killed six people in a terrifying rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction asked a local for surfing lessons just months before the attack.

Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed five women and one man to death and seriously injured 12 others with a 12-inch hunting knife around 3:20 p.m. on Saturday.

Cauchi was shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who has been hailed as a hero for ending the killing spree and providing CPR to the victims.

Bondi man Stefan Deutsch shared the disturbing moment he realized he had exchanged Facebook messages with Cauchi just six months earlier.

Mr Deutsch shared a screenshot of their brief interaction on TikTok, which began after Cauchi responded to his ad for surfing lessons.

‘Hi, I’m interested in surfing lessons in Sydney, can I sign up?’ Cauchi said.

‘Hi, yes, I can give you surfing lessons!’ Mr. Deutsch replied.

‘It is free?’ Cauchi asked.

“Hey, no, it’s not free, sorry,” Mr. Deutsch said.

Cauchi read the message but never replied.

Mr Deutsch shared a screenshot of their brief interaction on TikTok, which started after Cauchi responded to his ad for surfing lessons (pictured)

Just six days before the attack, Cauchi invited Sydneysiders to join him surfing at Bondi Beach in a post shared on a Facebook group for aspiring surfers.

‘Hello, I’m surfing in Bondi this afternoon, if anyone wants to meet up there to surf!’ he said.

Less than a week later, Cauchi would be shot dead after killing five women and one man in a violent stabbing that shocked the world.

The victims include:

Cauchi’s motives have yet to be confirmed, but NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said on Monday he appeared to be targeting women and avoiding men.

“The videos speak for themselves, don’t they?” she said. ‘That is certainly a line of research for us.

‘It is clear to me, it is clear to the detectives that it appears to be an area of ​​interest that the perpetrator had targeted women and avoided the men.

“As you know and has been reported, five of the deceased are women. And the majority of the victims in the hospital are also women. We don’t know what was going on in the perpetrator’s mind and that is why it is important now that detectives spend so much time interviewing those who knew him, were around him and were close to him.

“So we can get some insight into what he may have been thinking.” We won’t necessarily know. But we must pass judgment on those who know him.”

His motives have yet to be confirmed, but NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said on Monday that Cauchi (pictured) appeared to target women and avoid men.

Cauchi was known to the police and had lived sporadically in Sydney in recent years. He reportedly slept poorly and had no fixed address.

He was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 17 and it becomes clear that he had a history of being obsessed with knives.

When he lived with his parents in Toowoomba, south-east Queensland, they were so concerned about his fixation that they took away his knives.

His parents, Andrew and Michelle, refused to speak to the media after previously describing their son Joel Cauchi’s murderous rampage as ‘truly horrific’.

His parents learned of the horror when they recognized their son from images on TV and made a panicked call to the police, but by then it was too late.

Cauchi’s parents Andrew (pictured) and Michelle refused to speak to the media after previously describing their son’s murderous rampage as ‘truly horrific’

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the majority of Cauchi’s victims were women

The Cauchis have lived in the Rockville suburb of Toowoomba for 46 years and last saw their son just a few months ago when the 40-year-old came over for Christmas.

They said in their statement that they have “no issues” with Inspector Scott’s actions or those of the NSW Police.

“Joel’s actions were truly heinous, and we are still trying to understand what happened,” the statement said.

‘He has been struggling with psychological problems since he was a teenager.

‘We are in contact with both the New South Wales Police and Queensland Police and have no issues with the police officer who shot our son as she was only doing her job to protect others and we hope she is doing well. ‘