On the afternoon of April 13 (Saturday), local time in Australia, a random slashing incident occurred at Westfield Bondi Junction, a shopping mall frequented by Chinese in Sydney, Australia.
According to CCTV, so far, seven people, including the murderer, have died, and 12 people are still being treated in the hospital, and the murderer in this case has been shot dead by the police.
It is reported that the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney has confirmed that one Chinese citizen died and another Chinese citizen was injured in the incident.
CCTV reported that Cai Zhifeng, Minister Counsellor and Consul General of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, said in an interview with a reporter from the main station that after the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Australia and the Consulate General in Sydney immediately expressed their concerns to the Australian side, coordinated and maintained close communication with the Australian federal government and the New South Wales government, and confirmed that the incident caused a Chinese student to be killed and another Chinese student seriously injured.
It is reported that the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney immediately called to express condolences to the families of the dead and injured and the injured Chinese citizens. Next, the focus of the embassy and consulates will be to work with the Consulate General in Sydney to make every effort to facilitate the families of the dead and injured to come to Australia and effectively protect the rights of Chinese personnel.
According to the latest reports from a number of Australian media, the last deceased in the attack was confirmed to be a Chinese citizen, Yixuan Cheng.
She is a 27-year-old Chinese student who had previously posted on social media that her relatives and friends had repeatedly posted missing people after the attack.
And just a few minutes before the tragedy, Yixuan Cheng was still on the phone with her boyfriend, but she didn't expect something to happen after hanging up the phone.
It is reported that the last text message Yixuan Cheng sent to her boyfriend on WeChat was still discussing the issue of buying clothes at the mall that day, after which they hung up the phone.
Police announced: The assailant has been identified as Joel Cauchi (pictured below), a 40-year-old man from Queensland who suffers from mental health issues and has a history of being obsessed with knives.
Police believe it was an isolated attack and had nothing to do with the terrorist attack.
Joel Cauchi, who arrived in NSW just last month, is unclear for the reason for his attack.
Police said they are currently talking to the attacker's family in the hope of finding some clues.
It is reported that at about 3:30 p.m. on the day of the crime, the murderer walked into the shopping mall with a sharp knife, and a horrific killing began.
He wandered around the mall, armed with a 30-centimeter-long sharp knife, and stabbed people aimlessly like crazy. The crowd fled in all directions, blood pouring down the ground.
The brutal massacre resulted in the instant death of six innocent victims, five of whom were women, and a nine-month-old baby who was being resuscitated in hospital.
A day after the murder, more details came to light and the identity of the deceased was further confirmed.
According to the Daily Mail and other media reports, one of the dead was 25-year-old Dawnie (pictured below), the daughter of multimillionaire and famous Australian advertising guru John Singleton.
Sadly, the 25-year-old girl is still a bride-to-be, she just bought a wedding dress a few days ago, and is preparing to marry her first high school sweetheart.
Her fiancé, a local police officer, had just gotten off work when the attack took place, and he rushed to the mall to help his colleagues with the matter.
What I didn't expect was that my fiancée was also one of the victims that day.
Ashlee Good, a 38-year-old young mom, was also one of the six killed in the attack.
After the attack, she fled with her 9-month-old baby in blood, and the blood stains were 20 meters long....
Ms. Goode's nine-month-old baby, Harriet, suffered a knife wound and the baby was still fighting for her life after being taken to the hospital for emergency surgery.
Jade Young, also from east Sydney, was also among the victims of the attack, a mother of two and, judging by her name, is likely to be of Chinese descent.
Ms. Yang works for a construction company, loves sports, and is a member of a local surf club.
A local artist was identified as the fifth victim of the stabbing, she is 55-year-old Pikria Darchia, who is known to be from Tbilisi, Georgia.
Also killed in the incident was a security guard at the mall, Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old Pakistani man.
Many fear that the death toll could rise further. Three of the injured are currently in critical condition and are fighting for their lives in hospitals.
A Chinese lady witnessed the attack: a life was saved
On the day of the incident, many Chinese were also at the scene, and even witnessed the tragedy.
A Chinese lady told reporters in fear, "I really picked up a life." ”
She said that she was shopping on the first floor when suddenly two gunshots rang out on the second floor, and people immediately panicked and fled to nearby shops.
She said all the shops in the mall were in a hurry to close their doors, and gunshots were heard soon after.
The woman said, "The gunshots were mixed with the screams of women!"
"We were evacuated to the staff emergency tunnel and when we left we saw at least two bodies, bleeding all over the ground and some covered with white cloths. ”
She said that this time she really brushed shoulders with death, and she felt very afraid.
Mr. Du, a Chinese man, happened to be working nearby at the time.
He described the disaster as "appalling."
"At that time, I just wanted to run for my life, everything else was outside of me. ”
He quickly left the scene and immediately reported his safety to his family and friends after confirming that he was safe.
"I can't believe this is happening in Sydney, hopefully the casualties will be minimised. ”
Mr. Luo, a Chinese man, had a similar experience.
"I had a friend who was almost killed by that gangster!"
Mr. Luo said that the friend was still in shock after seeing the gangster shot dead by the police.
At the critical moment, the heroic policewoman who rushed to the scene risked her life and rushed forward and single-handedly confronted the knife-wielding gangsters on the top floor of the shopping mall.
When two passers-by saw it, they ran behind her with tools in their hands, one of them holding a plastic chair and trying to repel the suspect.
At the moment when the suspect threw himself at the police with a knife, she shot and killed the suspect, avoiding more innocent casualties.
Australia's prime minister also praised the policewoman for her courage in confronting the gangsters and subduing them. "She's an absolute hero. There is no doubt that she saved lives through her actions. ”
On April 14, many Sydney citizens spontaneously came to the scene to lay flowers to express their condolences.
May the departed rest in peace!