The Sydney Mall Stabbing Rampage: What We Know

The attack happened in a busy center for tourists and beachgoers in the eastern suburbs, an affluent area of Sydney.

A stabbing attack on Saturday afternoon at a crowded mall in Sydney, Australia, left six people dead and at least 11 others injured, including a 9-month-old girl. The rampage was the deadliest act of mass violence in the country since 2017.

The authorities said that the attacker, who was identified on Sunday as Joel Cauchi, 40, was shot and killed by a police officer.

Two days after the mall stabbing, a man was arrested and accused of stabbing multiple people during a live streamed Mass at a church west of Sydney.

Here’s what we know so far.

What happened in Sydney?

The attack happened at Westfield Bondi Junction, a popular shopping center about a mile away from the famous Bondi Beach, in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as shoppers noticed people running and saying that someone in the mall had a knife. As the attacker moved through multiple levels of the mall, the police said, he began to stab people.

Five people died of their injuries at the scene and a woman died later in a hospital, the police said. At least 11 others — including eight women, two men and the 9-month-old — were taken to hospitals, the police said.

Multiple calls were made from the mall about a stabbing, beginning shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Mr. Cauchi was shot and killed after Amy Scott, a police inspector, who was conducting routine duties nearby, was directed into the shopping center, where he lunged at her with his weapon.

Michael Dunkley, 57, who witnessed the attack, said that the officer ordered Mr. Cauchi to drop the knife. He “didn’t say anything,” Mr. Dunkley said. “He seemed determined.”

Five of the six victims were women.

By Monday morning, the identities of all six victims had been released by their families, employers, local communities or the authorities.

• Ashlee Good, a 38-year-old new mother, was stabbed along with her 9-month-old daughter. The baby underwent surgery on Saturday night and was doing well, but Ms. Good did not survive, according to a statement from her family.
• Faraz Tahir, 30, was a security guard who arrived in Australia about a year ago from Pakistan, according to a community group. Mirza Sharif, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, said that Saturday was the first time that Mr. Tahir had worked at the Bondi Junction shopping mall.
• Jade Young, 47, was a mother of two daughters and an active member of the nearby Bronte Surf Life Saving Club. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as an architect.
• Dawn Singleton, 25, worked for White Fox Boutique, an online fashion retailer.
• Pikria Darchia, 55, was an artist and designer, according to her social media accounts.
• Yixuan Cheng, a Chinese citizen, was a student at the University of Sydney.

A motive for the attack is unclear.

Police Commissioner Karen Webb of the New South Wales Police said a motive for the attack was unclear but there were no indications it was a hate crime or related to terrorism.

Asked on Sunday if the attacker appeared to single out women, she said that would be an “obvious” line of inquiry for the police.

Roger Lowe, the assistant police commissioner for the state of Queensland, where Mr. Cauchi lived before moving to Sydney about a month ago, said that Mr. Cauchi had a history of mental health problems. The authorities did not offer specifics.

Mr. Cauchi’s family, who was not in regular touch with him, contacted the authorities after recognizing him on television broadcasts, the police said. In a statement, his family described his actions as “truly horrific.”

Bondi Junction is a shopping and tourism hub.

Bondi Junction is a wealthy area of Sydney where tourists and beachgoers meander, shop and meet with friends.

The district draws crowds on weekends, where people can shop at high-end stores in the Westfield mall complex, see a movie or buy groceries.

The district is also a point of access for beachgoers and residents from central Sydney to many of the city’s popular eastern beaches.

The attack was a rare occurrence in Australia.

Two days after the stabbing at the shopping center, a man was arrested in connection with the stabbing of multiple people, including a bishop, during Mass at a church in a suburb west of Sydney. In a livestream of the service, a man can be seen approaching the lectern in the church and attacking the bishop.

The stabbing at the shopping center was the worst act of mass violence in the country since 2017, when a man intentionally drove his car into a mall in Melbourne, killing six people, after he had stabbed his brother and taken a woman hostage.

After a mass shooting that left 35 people dead in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur in 1996, lawmakers tightened gun restrictions and standardized the laws across the country.

“In this country, this stuff shouldn’t happen,” Mr. Dunkley said. “People come here because it’s safe.”