Detectives pursuing ‘obvious’ line of inquiry – that attacker Joel Cauchi targeted women and avoided men, police commissioner says
Yixuan Cheng has been confirmed as the sixth person stabbed to death in Bondi Junction on Saturday in what police are now investigating as a murderous rampage possibly targeting women.
The Chinese national, a University of Sydney student who was in her 20s, was killed by a Queensland man, Joel Cauchi, at the shopping centre on Saturday afternoon alongside five others.
The university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Mark Scott, said the university was working with the Chinese consulate and the student’s family.
In an email to staff and students on Monday, Scott said he was “shocked and saddened” by the “senseless violence and loss of life that occurred” on Saturday afternoon.
“On behalf of the university, I extend my sincere condolences to the student’s family and friends,” he said, adding: “Please take time today to check in on each other, this is a deeply distressing time for our community and I encourage you to look after each other and access the support available.”
Wang Chunsheng, China’s acting consul general in Sydney, said he was “very sorry to hear about” Cheng’s death.
The consulate would be in contact with her relatives in China to make arrangements, Wang said. In similar cases in the past, Chinese relatives have been flown to Australia.
“There’s no sense of anything other than randomness,” Anthony Albanese told KIIS FM.
