Bondi beach candlelight memorial honors victims of shopping mall knife attack

NEW DELHI: A candlelight memorial was held at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach on Sunday to honor the six people who lost their lives in a knife attack at the nearby Westfield Bondi Junction shopping complex.
The victims included five women and a male security guard. The attack left many Australians in shock, as they are not accustomed to such violent crimes.
Daniela Pontidas, a 56-year-old local cafe owner, expressed her grief and told AFP, "When I heard this I cried.Because it is new to us. We don't have this happen often. It's a shock."
Paul Inggall, 50, who had been at Bondi Junction hours before the attack also talked to AFP and said, "these things don't happen often in Australia but when they do I think they have a profound impact."
The mentally ill knifeman, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, was tracked down, shot, and killed by police inspector Amy Scott, who attended the memorial service. Cauchi's parents revealed that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at 17 but had stopped taking medication and dropped out of treatment.
As the sun set, a choir sang "Keep Your Loving Arms Around Me," and an Indigenous didgeridoo was played as people lit candles. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns emphasized the strength and resilience of the Bondi community.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered the nation's condolences for the six lives "snatched away on that hardest of Saturday afternoons."
The shopping mall reopened on Friday with a somber atmosphere, as floral tributes were piled up inside and shoppers signed a book of condolence. Australian leaders praised the "heroes" of the Bondi attack, including the police, emergency responders, and individuals like Frenchman Damien Guerot, who fended off the attacker with a bollard. The government has granted Guerot permanent citizenship and is expected to do the same for the wounded Pakistani security guard, Muhammad Taha.
Just two days after the mall attack, an Assyrian Christian bishop was brutally stabbed during a livestreamed service in western Sydney. The bishop is recovering in hospital, and a 16-year-old suspect has been charged with committing "a terrorist act."