In Australia, crowds join Bondi Beach candlelight memorial for mall stabbing victims
- The killings have stunned many Australians, who are largely unaccustomed to such violent crime: ‘I feel like this has burst Australia’s bubble a bit’
- Hundreds have turned out at the gathering in solidarity, as Australian officials offer condolences and pay tribute to the ‘heroes’ of the attack
Crowds gathered at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday for a candlelight memorial to the six people killed by a knife-wielding assailant at a nearby shopping centre.
Many hundreds sat on the grass in a beachside park to grieve for the five women and a Pakistani male security guard who died in the April 13 attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping complex.
The killings stunned many Australians, who are largely unaccustomed to such violent crime.
“When I heard this, I cried. Because it is new to us. We don’t have this happen often. It’s a shock,” said 56-year-old local cafe owner Daniela Pontidas.
“I know a lot of people that were impacted in some way,” she said. “I feel like this has burst Australia’s bubble a bit.”
Paul Inggall, 50, said he had been at Bondi Junction in the morning hours before the attack.
“These things don’t happen often in Australia but when they do, I think they have a profound impact,” he said. “I think it really moves the community, so I want to be a part of it.”
The mentally ill knifeman, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was tracked down, shot and killed by police inspector Amy Scott, who attended the service.