How I lived the stabbing attack at Westfield Bondi Junction Mall

Everything was very fast: I dropped from the bus to get some groceries from the Coles inside the mall, and in less than ten minutes I was leaving it in an emergency evacuation, after hearing the three shots that ended the life of the attacker. At any moment I knew what was going on.

That night, when the media had already given information and even the prime minister Anthony Albanese had talked about the incident, I couldn´t believe there were six people dead -five women and one man-, plus the attacker shot by the police, and twelve others with injuries at the hospital, including a nine-month-old baby girl, whose 38-year-old mum is one of the deads.

When I got inside the building I saw some people running, but I didn´t pay attention (people running in a big city). Soon the rhythm of everything was much more dizzying. Groups of people were running to the exit, and some shops were closing their shutters. It was Saturday, 3:00 PM. Clearly something was going on. The images from the security camera the media showed later are chilling: the attacker with a long knife chasing people, crowds running desperately from him.

I wanted to find out before panicking. I asked two women who didn´t know: and then, the noise of the shots, by the police officer Amy Scott, against the aggressor, identified as Joel Cauchi. In one second the alarms started to sound, and on the screens, the alert: “ATENTION! Emergency evacuation. Please evacuate the centre immediately”. People running and screaming and the sensation in the body that it was a life-or-dead situation.

Outside, a huge police operation, ambulances arriving, and a helicopter flying over the area. Immediately after the incident, the media only had the words of witnesses, people who had lived the same as me. Only a few hours later, I knew there was a 40-year-old male stabbing people with a knife. Early research said the man acted alone and it was not a terrorist attack. Later, it was known that Cauchi had been treated for mental health issues and had had no interaction with his family since December 2023.

I read the victim stories, I listen to the stories of people who helped others. The man who held the baby from the hands of her mum. People who were hidden inside the shops. Oficial statements. Reports in the news. Fragments of discourse to hold on to.