She's a good un mate, sort of mate you want by your side when business gets or got serious


Australia PM hails cop who shot Sydney attacker as 'a hero'


Mass casualty attacks are rare in Australia and the events in Bondi Junction have shocked the nation
An Australian police officer has been hailed as a hero by the country's prime minister, after she confronted and shot dead a man who fatally stabbed six people at a Sydney shopping centre.

"There is no doubt that she saved lives," PM Anthony Albanese said, calling Saturday's attack "a horrific act of violence".

Police described how the unnamed officer bravely tracked the attacker through the mall, challenged him and shot him dead after he raised his knife towards her.

Knifeman rampaged through Sydney mall as shoppers ran for their lives
"A man walked into Westfield at Bondi Junction... as he moved through the centre he engaged with about nine people," Anthony Cooke, assistant commissioner of New South Wales Police, said.

"It is clear that during that engagement he caused harm to those people... stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying.

"Very clearly a range of reports were made on the incident, police attended promptly - a single unit officer, inspector of police, was nearby, attended, and went into the centre directed by a range of people.

"She confronted the offender who had moved, by this stage, to level five.

"As she continued to walk quickly behind to catch up with him he turned to face her, raised a knife, she discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased."


The female officer - not pictured here - was directed by shoppers to the fifth floor of the Westfield complex
A shopper, who was not named, also described the moment the officer confronted the knifeman.

"He just started floating towards us and all I heard was 'put it down' and then she shot him," he told ABC News Australia.

"But we were in no doubt, if she didn't shoot him, he would have kept going. He was on the rampage.

"Then she walked over and gave him CPR. He had a big blade on him - she chucked the knife away. He looked like he was on a killing spree."

'People who wear uniform rush to danger'
Eight victims, including a nine-month-old, remain in hospital after the rampage.

The baby is receiving surgery and its mother is believed to be among the dead, according to local media. Police have confirmed that five of the six killed in the attack were women.

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Video shows Sydney stabbing attack suspect in mall

The female inspector had been in Bondi Junction conducting routine duties when she heard reports of the events unfolding.

She was the first on scene, police say, and was quickly directed by shoppers to the fifth floor of the complex.

Mr Albanese later described it as "a reminder that those people who wear uniform are people who rush to danger, not away from it".

The head of the state's police force, Karen Webb, also commended the officer's "enormous courage" and said she was now "doing well under the circumstances".

While little has been made public about the assailant or his motives, police have confirmed that the 40-year-old was known to them.

Bondi Junction, which is down the road from the iconic beachside suburb of Bondi, is home to one of the most popular shopping districts in Australia.

And like most Saturdays it had been packed with visitors, including families and young children, when reports of a lone attacker carrying a "massive" knife spread like wildfire.

As people began to blockade themselves in shops and run for cover, some tried to hold off the assailant.

"I saw this one guy fighting with the killer. He was holding the pole, trying to throw a pole at the escalator," 19-year-old Rashdan Aqashah - who was working in a COS clothing store at the time - told the BBC.

Footage appearing to capture the incident has since attracted thousands of views.

Mr Albanese said that the way everyday Australians responded to the violence in Bondi Junction, whether running towards it or helping to stem the bleeding of victims, was a testament to their "humanity" and "heroism".

Same as the UK.

Speaking from experience the paperwork involved in pulling a gun let alone discharging a round(s), is enough to decimate at least ten acres of the Amazon Rain Forest. All that after authorisation, from a gold level commander, subsequent investigation, evidence investigation of the area and action(s) involved sidelined to non public duty, chats with the force shrinks.

She tried to save him

Joel Cauchi is his name, he had mental health issues

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bondi-junction-attack-live-updates-sydney-reeling-after-stabbing-attack-leaves-multiple-dead-critically-injured-in-city-s-eastern-suburbs-20240413-p5fjlp.html

The family's statement is indeed exceptionally honest in its comments..

‘Truly horrific’: Cauchi family release statement
The family of the Bondi Junction stabbing perpetrator, Joel Cauchi, have released a statement to the media.

The statement reads:

We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events that occurred in Sydney yesterday.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims and those still undergoing treatment at this time.

Joel’s actions were truly horrific, and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened. He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.

We are in contact with both the New South Wales Police Force and Queensland Police Service 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 coping alright.”

The Cauchi family also requested privacy.