Is everyone OK?

[horrie hastings]

I still cannot stop breaking down in tears when a news report comes up showing the victims of this senseless crime and thank you redwhiteblue for thinking of my sister as she used to enjoy walking up the road to see you in the shop.
And as redwhiteblue pointed out memories of personal experiences that have happened never leave you, i was held up at knife point in Waterloo with my job, turned around as i was near the safe and had a knife at my throat, every thing just seems like you are in a vacuum while it is happening, every second is suddenly slowed down even more, luckily i wasn't physically harmed that day, the same person returned to the shop about two weeks later even though we had a security guard at the front, i was at the back of the shop when it happened this time and there were a few customers around where i was so i just told them follow me and took them out through a side emergency exit , the security guard at the front did get a slash wound from bandit but luckily it was only minor, the person at the register at the time and still does work for the company now had to have time off to get over the trauma. Even though the knife to the throat and also the other hold up not long afterwards are a distant memory they are things you cannot ever forget

[horrie hastings]

The Roosters released a statement too via email but I was too busy crying to read it properly. Maybe someone else will post it.

When i got home from work today my better half said there was a very well written statement from the Roosters and i was going to post it but Andrew Walker had already kindly posted it a bit earlier on page 6.

[bondi.boy]

A terrorist wearing a Kangaroos Jersey would be a 1st.

Which I thought when I first saw the photo.
But before the photos were released, at the beginning, I thought it could be a terror attack. Could be, might be.
You know, Bondi...Jewish community central...ranting people in a part of Sydney referred to the police, again.
Anti-semitism rife all over the world at present.
As more details were released about the killer, it was clear it was not a terror attack.
Well it was a terror attack as such, victims, their families, society terrorised....mass murder.
Just not a political, religious, cultural one...it seems.

[Andrew Walker]

When i got home from work today my better half said there was a very well written statement from the Roosters and i was going to post it but Andrew Walker had already kindly posted it a bit earlier on page 6.

Page 6 #76

[Andrew Walker]

Thank you for letting us know you are safe Andy. Your daughter and Horrie Hasting’s sister were the first 2 people I thought of when my friend across the hallway messaged me with the news late yesterday afternoon to see if I was home. Ironically, you were all the ones who always went out of your way to come and keep me company in my shop after I was assaulted at Charing Cross in 2009. You have no idea how much it meant to me back then to see familiar, smiling and trusting faces and that is something I will carry with me forever, no matter what. I’m feeling deep gratitude for the safety of you all. The last time I cried 24 hours straight was when Mum died.

I’ve seen a lot in my time over the years, having worked at the bank in Westfield back in the 90’s and colleagues being taken hostage and locked in the safe at our Edgecliff branch, the boutique next to mine being held up by knife wielding teenagers..dealing with my own fears…many more incidents from those days, but never ever has anything on this level of devastation been seen in our area. I was 800m from the Lindt Cafe siege and I remember chatting to some of you including Andy on here back then too whilst we were in an office lockdown. This stuff stays with you forever.

All I can now think of is the younger generations who have not only just come out of 2 years of on and off lockdowns, now having to deal with a place they should all be able to go to freely and often without fear, being the scene of such sadness and grief. Our community has a lot of healing to do and it will not be easy to bounce back emotionally from something on this scale. It’s the 6 degrees of separation for those of us who have called this beautiful part of the world home for decades. We all know someone who knows someone effected..The Roosters released a statement too via email but I was too busy crying to read it properly. Maybe someone else will post it.

Waylander, thanks for starting this thread and it’s given me some comfort to check in on people who mean a lot to me. I haven’t read all the comments but I’m sending lots of love and healing to those affected directly, like Thirteen and Red. They are lucky to have strong friends and family like both of you to lean on.

Saw this yesterday didn’t have time or more the energy to respond last night Thanks for the thoughts they are appreciated.

My Daughter seems unfazed by this she asked yesterday when can we go back to Westfields will it be open today

Whilst we all stayed home during the day yesterday I’ve told her we will all go to Bondi Junction today as a family to pay our respects Support our local businesses and check in on those we see and know in the area on a regular basis whilst going about our daily lives

Still very raw this has happened especially in a place that my nearest and dearest and I frequent on a daily basis and a place I love and have so many great memories of over the years

For us though life goes on and today is time to once again be grateful for what we have and to get back out there and support support others who may need it Even if all that is, is a smile a hello and how are you feeling are you ok

[rented tracksuit]

A terrorist wearing a Kangaroos Jersey would be a 1st.

Not really mate.

The Kangaroos have been terrorising the rest of the rugby league world for years!

[mightyrooster]

I still cannot stop breaking down in tears when a news report comes up showing the victims of this senseless crime and thank you redwhiteblue for thinking of my sister as she used to enjoy walking up the road to see you in the shop.
And as redwhiteblue pointed out memories of personal experiences that have happened never leave you, i was held up at knife point in Waterloo with my job, turned around as i was near the safe and had a knife at my throat, every thing just seems like you are in a vacuum while it is happening, every second is suddenly slowed down even more, luckily i wasn't physically harmed that day, the same person returned to the shop about two weeks later even though we had a security guard at the front, i was at the back of the shop when it happened this time and there were a few customers around where i was so i just told them follow me and took them out through a side emergency exit , the security guard at the front did get a slash wound from bandit but luckily it was only minor, the person at the register at the time and still does work for the company now had to have time off to get over the trauma. Even though the knife to the throat and also the other hold up not long afterwards are a distant memory they are things you cannot ever forget

Oh Horrie that is just terrible. To have gone through something like that, this whole situation in Bondi would have triggered everything for you all over again. I am so sorry you had to go through that and am now having to relive the whole trauma again in your thoughts. My thoughts are with you.

[Random Rooster]

Someone earler in this thread asked "what would we have done"?
Given that I'm closer to 80 than 75, can no longer run, am not allowed to carry a handgun, knife, whip, sword, baton, extendable baton, crossbow, garden fork as walking stick and weapon, walking stick gun, ...I could do not much, maybe grab something from a store to use for self defence etc.

Improved security at Bondi Westfield?
Very difficult, so many entrances...incl from lifts into stores, on multiple floors.
Easy to hide a knife on one's person...security guards on entry doors would see no threat.

West Australia is the only state that pepper spray is deemed legal and is considered a "controlled weapon" instead of a 'prohibited weapon'.

All the females in my family carry pepper spray in Perth. You can be 3-4 metres away and still reach a attackers eyes. My niece used it once down the park on a cross staffy dog that was going to attack her Maltese Terrier . Worked a treat - the staffy spent 10 minutes rubbing its face on the grass until it could see again-no harm done

Any of the females here think it should be legal in the other states?

[Red.]

I'm not a female but I think it should certainly be legal Australia wide.

Obviously there will be some that use it for erroneous reasons but as it is not a lethal weapon on balance I'm for it.

[Dr. Voodoo Man]

I'm not a female but I think it should certainly be legal Australia wide.

Obviously there will be some that use it for erroneous reasons but as it is not a lethal weapon on balance I'm for it.

I would love to have a taser for my wife and for home protection but it's pretty much illegal to keep anything as a weapon in Australia.

[Salvatori Grubber]

Even the most avowed and chilled Muslim’s first thoughts when hearing of this tragedy would have been “oh fck, pls don’t let the perpetrator be a Muslim terrorist” and we all know it.

So if any others had that same thought then who could blame them?

Plenty of women and kids murdered on Oct 7.

[Vasco]

I lived in Bondi Junction for nearly 40 years. When I was a kid growing up there there were parts of the "Jungo" you steered clear of. Never could anyone imagine this happening.

MY thoughts are with the families of all the victims.

[mightyrooster]

West Australia is the only state that pepper spray is deemed legal and is considered a "controlled weapon" instead of a 'prohibited weapon'.

All the females in my family carry pepper spray in Perth. You can be 3-4 metres away and still reach a attackers eyes. My niece used it once down the park on a cross staffy dog that was going to attack her Maltese Terrier . Worked a treat - the staffy spent 10 minutes rubbing its face on the grass until it could see again-no harm done

Any of the females here think it should be legal in the other states?

I’d be all for it. The example you give with the dog would also be relevant for me as I often come across big dogs when out walking my little fur baby. I’ve come across big dogs a few times off the leash. One time one really went for mine but luckily it’s owner was near by and he had to wrestle it away from my dog. It was a very scary experience as instinctively I just try and protect my dog putting myself in harms way as well.

[Batemans Bay Rooster]

Some comments from his parents about their son. They seem like very good people.


The parents of Bondi Junction killer Joel Cauchi say they are deeply torn by their son’s actions.

Speaking to media on Monday, father Andrew Cauchi said his son was a “beautiful” boy, who “let himself down” when he went off his medication.

Mr Cauchi spoke of his pain and his heartache for families who have lost their loved ones when his son went on a rampage through Westfield Bondi Junction, killing six people and injuring more.

“I’m extremely sorry, I’m heartbroken for you,” Mr Cauchi said outside his Rangeville home, about 130km west of Brisbane.
Andrew Cauchi, the father of Joel Cauchi, says he’s heartbroken about what his son has done. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
“This is so horrendous I can’t even explain it.

“I’m just devastated, I love my son.”

Mr Cauchi said his son had battled with mental illness for many years and had decided to come off his medication because he was feeling better.

“I made myself a servant to my son when I found out he had a mental illness, I became his servant because I loved that boy,” he said.

“He let himself down, he was taken off medication because he was doing so well but then he took off to Brisbane.

“You don’t know how beautiful this boy was. There’s no way, I did everything in my power to help my son.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do or say to bring back the dead.

“I’m loving a monster. To you he’s a monster but to me he was a very sick boy.”
A tearful Andrew Cauchi, the father of Joel Cauchi, spoke to the media at the family home in Toowoomba on Monday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
When asked why he thought his son had targeted women during the rampage, Mr Cauchi said he could understand why the NSW Police believe that was his motive.

“He wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain,” he said.

Cauchi’s mother, Michele, said her son’s actions was “very out of character” despite his mental health battles.

“I’m so sorry about what our son has done,” Mrs Cauchi said on Monday.

“We don’t know why he did what he did, it was very out of character.

“He was brought up in love, he was a loved child and he was under the care of his doctors for something like 18 years, he was taking his medication well and then he asked the doctor to come down on (the dose).

“He did so over a period of years.”

Mrs Cauchi said she didn’t think her son would have been cognisant of what he was doing when on the violent rampage through Westfield.
Michele Cauchi, the mother of Joel Cauchi, received some flowers on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
“This is a parent’s absolute nightmare when they have a child with a mental illness that something like this would happen,” she said.

“If he was in his right mind, he would be absolutely devastated about what he’s done.

“He obviously wasn’t in his right mind, he’s somehow been triggered into a psychosis and he’s lost touch with reality.”

Mrs Cauchi said before her son’s battle with mental illness, he was liked by everyone he knew.

“We’re just ordinary people who brought up our son as best we could,” she said.

“He got a degree, we helped him get a degree. Everyone was very supportive of him. His teachers loved him, he was top of the class, he worked hard.

“He had lots of friends when he was growing up. He had lots of friends until he got sick.”

Mrs Cauchi urged anyone who had a relative with a mental illness to reach out for support.

She explained how hard it can be to support someone who’s chosen to come off their medication because they’re feeling well enough.

Flowers were delivered to their Darling Downs home west of Brisbane on Monday morning as Cauchi’s parents, Andrew and Michele, come to terms with their 40-year-old son’s actions and his death.

The couple have spent Monday morning trying to get through their household chores ahead of an expected visit from NSW Police detectives.
Michele Cauchi, the mother of Joel Cauchi, at home. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said investigators would be sent to Queensland following the fatal Bondi Junction attack.

“The NSW Police will send a contingent of investigators to Queensland to interview the family of the perpetrator and they will also have conversations and interviews with health and police in Queensland,” she said.

“That’s as we know where most of the interactions were with the perpetrator and that will help form part of the pieces to put together to determine how he ended up in NSW.”

It’s unclear when police are expected to arrive at the Rockville home, about 130km west of Brisbane.

The Cauchi family have lived in the quiet suburban home for more than 45 years, raising their son Joel in the Darling Downs community.

Late Sunday, the Cauchi family issued a statement in the wake of the fatal attack at Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre on April 13.
Cauchi was shot dead by police.
“We are absolutely devastated by the traumatic events that occurred in Sydney yesterday,” they said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims and those still undergoing treatment at this time.

“Joel’s actions were truly horrific, and we are still trying to comprehend what has happened. He has battled with mental health issues since he was a teenager.”

Mr and Mrs Cauchi said they were in contact with both the NSW Police Force and Queensland Police Service.
An unidentified man delivered flowers to the Cauchi family home on Monday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
They further extended their support to Inspector Amy Scott, who shot their son because she was “only doing her job to protect others and we hope she is coping alright”.

On Monday, his family told media they wouldn’t be making any further comment.

Cauchi had grown up in Toowoomba, attending Harristown State High School while a teenager.

A former schoolmate shared on social media that he’d grown up with Cauchi, attending his Rockville home for play dates as a child.

“He was one of those ones at school that was shy, always a bit on the weird side, but whenever he did something it was always full-tilt,” the former schoolmate shared.

“In hindsight, he probably didn’t regulate that well.

“Dropped off the radar after school but to my knowledge he didn’t maintain any friendships with his circle of school friends.”

Queensland Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Roger Lowe said Cauchi had been diagnosed with a mental illness when he was 17.

The 40-year-old had received treatment, but his mental health had declined “in the last number of years”.

Police believe Cauchi was last in contact with family in March but would “periodically text his mother with an update to where he was”.

[Waylander]

Thanks to everyone who used for this thread for it intended purpose. My sincerest best wishes to all concerned, and I'm very glad no-one in the direct Chookpen family seems to have directy effected.