NSW Police have identified the offender in the Bondi Junction stabbing attack as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi from Queensland.
Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said they believed Cauchi came to NSW last month.
“We are continuing investigations in relation to him,” he said. “We are, and have, spoken with his family. We will continue to do so, and they are co-operating with us.”
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke speaking about the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.Credit: Nine News
Cooke said Cauchi, shortly after coming to Sydney, “took possession of a storage facility”. He said police had gone through that “very small” storage facility.
“There is still, to this point … no information we have received, no evidence we have recovered, no intelligence that we have gathered that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation – ideology or otherwise”.
He said Cauchi suffered from mental health issues.
“We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage it would appear that this is related to the mental health of the individual involved.”
Cooke said he did not know how Cauchi may have come into possession of the knife.
He said the attacker was known to Queensland police, and believed to be from the Brisbane area.
Asked about prior offending, Cooke said there was “nothing significant”.
In an update on Inspector Amy Scott, who shot and killed the offender, Cooke said he had spoken to her last night, and she was “doing well”.
“Can I just say how proud we are of the actions of the officer involved,” he said.
“She is receiving all of the support that she requires.”