Five of the six victims of the stabbing spree are women (Picture: PA / Getty / MEGA)
Women – like Ashlee Good, who died protecting her baby – were ‘targeted’ in the Sydney shopping centre.
Five of the six people stabbed to death by Joel Cauchi, 40, in the Westfield Bondi Junction complex were women.
Armed with a long blade he had concealed in his backpack, the attacker began his deadly rampage, sending the crowded complex into panic on Saturday afternoon.
Cauchi was only stopped after being gunned down by police inspector Amy Scott, who had been nearby checking liquor licences at hotels by sheer coincidence.
Authorities are now investigating if he ‘focused on women and avoided the men’ during his stabbing spree.
New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb was asked by ABC about the footage of the massacre that appeared to show Cauchi targeting women.
She replied: ‘The videos speak for themselves, don’t they?
‘It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to detectives that seems to be an area of interest that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men.
‘Five of the deceased are women and the majority of victims in hospital are also women.’
Meanwhile, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese described the breakdown of victims as ‘concerning’ in an interview with old ABC Radio.
Asked about any links between the attacker and misogynist networks, he said: ‘All of that investigation will take place, it will be comprehensive, and nothing will not be looked at in this matter.’
Four victims have been named as Dawn Singleton, the 25-year-old daughter of Australian businessman John Singleton, 47-year-old Jade Young, who worked as an architect in Sydney, 55-year-old Pikria Darchia and security guard Faraz Tahir.
Ashlee Good, 38, succumbed to her wound in hospital, while her nine-month-old daughter Harriet has undergone surgery.
Little Harriet, who only survived because of the heroic efforts of her mum, is among the several others stabbing victims who are recovering from their injuries.
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