A mother who was killed in the Sydney mall attack shared a heartbreaking final post before her tragic death.
The Australian, Sydney suburb of Bondi has been rocked by the fatal stabbings of six people inside the Westfield shopping center on Saturday (April 13).
New South Wales Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke disclosed to a news conference that the knifeman, identified by police as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, walked into the mall at about 3:20PM where he "caused harm" to dozens of people by "stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying." The weapon "was most likely a knife," Cooke revealed, according to NBC News.
The stabbing spree only ended when the 40-year-old suspect was shot dead at the scene by an officer who single-handedly chased him through the area.
While a motive has not yet been revealed, police commissioner Karen Webb confirmed investigators would look at whether Cauchi had been targeting women and children specifically.
"The videos (of the attack) speak for themselves don’t they," Webb said, as cited by CNN. "It’s obvious to me, it’s obvious to the detectives that that seems to be an area of interest, that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men."
However, authorities warned the investigation could take a while as cops will interview witnesses and follow different lines of inquiry.
Among the victims killed was Ashlee Good, who her family described in a statement as "a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all-round outstanding human and so much more," per CNN.
The 38-year-old passed her injured nine-month-old daughter to bystanders soon after being wounded in the attack. The pair were rushed to the hospital but tragically, the mother succumbed to her injuries.
Just hours before the horror unfolded, the mom posted a heartwrenching picture to her social media with her baby in her arms. "Only because I was walking past and happened to be wearing the same thing 9 months out vs 9 months in etc etc," the caption read, as shared by Daily Mail.
The outlet also reported that Good posted a short video of her daughter sitting in a car seat with The Temptations song 'My Girl' playing the background.
The late woman's family expressed their gratitude to the medical team at Sydney's Children's Hospital, the police, and to the two men who "cared for our baby when Ashlee could not".
"We appreciate the well-wishes and thoughts of members of the Australian public who have expressed an outpouring of love for Ashlee and our baby girl," they added in their statement, as cited by BBC News.
Good's daughter received emergency surgery and is "currently doing well," the family confirmed in a statement. Minister for Health Park said the infant had moved from critical to serious, which was "a significant improvement" and doctors hoped to move the baby onto a ward in the following days.
"In the darkest of times comes sometimes the brightest of lights,” he continued. "Staff have literally performed miracles and people are alive because of their efforts."
Good's family and friends have also set up a GoFundMe page to help with financial costs. As of this writing, $250,490 has been raised of the $100,000 target.
Of those killed in the attack, five were women named Ashlee Good, Pikria Darchia, Dawn Singleton, Jade Young, and Yixuan Cheng. A male victim named Faraz Tahir, a security guard at the shopping center, was also fatally stabbed.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the attack as "unspeakable" and "really just beyond comprehension," adding: "People going about their Saturday afternoon shopping should be safe, shouldn’t be at risk."
"But tragically, we saw a loss of life, and people will be grieving for loved ones today," he said. "We also know there are many people still in hospital dealing with recovery, and our thoughts and prayers are with them."
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of all victims.
