image source, Rohan Anderson
A man who stabbed a woman to death at a Sydney shopping center appears to have targeted women, police have said.
Joel Couch, 40, began stabbing people with a long knife on Saturday, causing panic at the crowded Westfield Bondi Junction complex.
Five of the six people who died were women. Several people were injured, including an infant.
The New South Wales Police Commissioner told ABC News Australia it was “clear” Mr Couch was focused on women.
The man who died was Faraz Tahir, 30, a security guard who tried to intervene in the attack.
“The video speaks for itself, right?” Commissioner Karen Webb told ABC News Breakfast.
“It's clear to me and the detectives… it's clear that the perpetrator focused on women and avoided men.
“We don't know what was going on in the perpetrator's mind. That's why it's important now for detectives to spend as much time interviewing people who know the perpetrator.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also told ABC News on Monday that “the gender breakdown is of course concerning.”
Authorities previously said the attack was most likely “related to the mental health” of Couch, who was shot and killed by a police officer on Saturday.
The suspect was already known to police but had not been arrested or charged in his home state of Queensland. Queensland Police said he had been a wanderer for several years and was first diagnosed with mental illness at the age of 17.
The attack, which took place at one of the country's largest and most popular shopping centres, shocked Australia, where mass murders are rare.
Flags across the country will be flown at half-mast on Monday, and the sails of the Sydney Opera House will be lit in memory of the victims.
Thousands of mourners also gathered at Bondi Junction to leave flowers and cards for those killed in the attack.
Ashley Goode, 38, was stabbed while trying to protect her nine-month-old baby, who was also injured and required emergency surgery. Her family announced Sunday that she is currently stable and doing well.
Police also named architects Jade Young, 47, and Pikulia Dalchia, 55, as victims, while local media identified Dawn Singleton, 25.
The Chinese Consulate General in Sydney announced that the fifth female victim, the only one whose name has not been released, was a Chinese national.
