Key Points
- The Bondi Junction shopping centre where six people were killed will reopen to the community for reflection.
- NSW Premier Chris Minns said Sydney is “combustible” following two knife attacks in the space of three days.
- Minns added that police had enhanced patrols and urged the public to come together and act reasonably.
Bondi Junction Westfield will reopen to the community for a day of reflection almost a week after a horrific stabbing attack.
The Sydney shopping centre was evacuated on Saturday afternoon when with a knife, killing six people and injuring 12.
The Westfield would open its doors to the public from 11am to 5pm on Thursday so they could pay their respects, said Elliot Rusanow, chief executive of Scentre Group, which owns the shopping centre.
“There will be no trade tomorrow. Instead, the centre will be open for members of the community to visit the centre, to walk through the centre and to pay their respects,” he said.
Counselling services will be available on-site and a section of the centre will be cordoned off long-term to allow tributes, wreaths and flowers.
The centre said it would operate on “quieter” settings to allow reflection, with less advertising and low music.
It will resume normal trading on Friday with an increased security presence.
The Westfield spokesperson acknowledged the “tragic” death of its security staff member Faraz Tahir, who was killed in the attack.
“Our team member came to this country as a refugee from Pakistan seeing a safer life and it’s with great tragedy and sadness that in our country … he hasn’t been able to experience that,” the spokesperson said.
Westfield management said it was working with his family to provide both financial and non-financial support, as they mourn his death.
The victims’ families were given a chance to visit the centre on Tuesday, in what the spokesperson described as a “very emotional experience”.
NSW premier bolsters police presence following church incident
A bolstered police presence in western Sydney will continue, particularly around places of worship, , following a knife attack and subsequent riot at a western Sydney church.
“It is a combustible situation, there’s no point in pretending that everything is as normal,” he told Seven’s Sunrise program.
“I can understand people’s concern and anxiety in what has been an incredibly difficult week in Sydney,” Minns said.
Minns said police now had enhanced patrols, “particularly in western Sydney, particularly around religious institutions, for the rest of the week and the weekend”.
Minns also expressed hope that religious leaders could help prevent any further violence amid attempts by some to stoke divisions on social media.
“Take the heed from the civic and religious leaders of this state who are calling for calm and an absolute repudiation of all kinds of violence,” Minns said.
Two clergymen were hospitalised after in Wakeley on Monday.
Responding police were injured during the subsequent riot while paramedics had to seek refuge in the church as a large crowd gathered after the attack, which was broadcast on the church’s live stream.
, with police declaring suspicions that the 16-year-old accused of the crime possibly had religious motivations.
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek also warned of people inflaming tensions via social media.
“We know there are people deliberately trying to stoke division on social media … switch it off if you can,” the Sydney MP told ABC TV on Wednesday.
Six people were killed at Bondi Junction on Saturday when Joel Cauchi went on a stabbing rampage in the shopping centre. Source: AFP / David Gray via Getty Images
Incidents trigger debate over knife crime
The two incidents have fueled debate over knife crime.
Both Cauchi and the 16-year-old arrested at the Assyrian church had a history of inappropriate possession of knives, with the teenager on a good behaviour bond over a knife crime three months ago.
Another fatal stabbing attack near a school in Doonside in Sydney’s west on Friday left an 18-year-old dead and a 19-year-old wounded.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder, and a 17-year-old boy has been charged with accessory offences.
The NSW government doubled the maximum penalties for possessing or wielding a knife in a public place after.
The maximum jail term increased from two to four years while the maximum fine for possession doubled to $4,400, and wielding increased to $11,000.
Tyler Mitchell