As a knife-wielding psychotic killer stalked his way through a busy shopping centre, most people fled.
But some shoppers reached for their smartphones and hit “record”, something a high-ranking anti-terrorism police officer hopes to never see again.
Today in the inquest on the deadly Bondi Junction shopping centre stabbing, the focus was on the reactions of the shoppers. Security footage and a 3D reconstruction were released by the court, showing the tense moments leading up to the attacker being shot dead by the police.
Chief Inspector Colin Green on Thursday said the public did not know how to react to an armed offender in a crowded space.
During the investigation, it was emphasized that the slogan “Escape, Hide, Tell” should be as well-known as fire safety practices. This advice suggests getting away from the danger, finding a safe place to hide, and then calling the police for help.
“This should be a message that is as common to our younger generation as ‘Get down low and go, go, go’,” he told the NSW Coroners Court.
The court is currently delving into the details surrounding the tragic Bondi Junction mass stabbing in Sydney, where five women and a male security guard lost their lives in April 2024.
Under questioning, he agreed he had been left “troubled” by not being contacted about the serious incident.
Someone could have been sent to pick up ballistic helmets and vests from a central repository and get them to the team on the ground faster, the officer told the court.
Instead, paramedics at the mall had to wait 16 minutes to get clearance from NSW Police to use the personal protective equipment located there, he said.
Rostering shortfalls and heightened risk of beach incidents because of good weather also resulted in no special operations paramedics being embedded with the NSW Police Tactical Operations Unit on the day of the attack.
Cauchi stabbed 16 people within five minutes in the shopping centre before being shot dead by police Inspector Amy Scott.
Dawn Singleton, 25, Faraz Tahir, 30, Ashlee Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, and Yixuan Cheng, 27, were killed.
He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager and was successfully treated until 2019 when he stopped his medication, the inquest was previously told.
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