The first victim of the Sydney mall attack has been identified as a young mom stabbed to death while shopping with her nine-month-old baby. Ash Good, 38, was one of the six innocent shoppers who were killed in a random stabbing spree at Sydney's Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday.
The deadly attack took place around 3:20 p.m., carried out by a 40-year-old man dressed in a Kangaroos rugby league jersey. The knifeman was shot dead by a brave female police officer. A total of nine people, including Good's baby Harriet, sustained knife wounds. The innocent infant is currently fighting for life after being rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.
Mother Killed, Baby Narrowly Escapes
Just hours before the tragic events unfolded, Good posted a photo on Instagram with her baby in her arms. "Only because I was walking past and happened to be wearing the same thing 9 months out vs 9 months in etc etc," the caption read.
Good desperately handed her baby to a bystander during the attack.
"The baby got stabbed and, yeah, the mum got stabbed," the bystander said.
"The mum came over with the baby and threw it at me.
"I just helped by holding the baby ... and trying to compress the baby."
The man and his brother remained with the mother and promptly called emergency services.
"(It was) very bad... a lot of the blood on the floor ... hope the baby's alright," the other brother said.
Gory Scenes
Video footage obtained by 9News Sydney showed the suspect, clad in a gold and green rugby jersey and shorts, wielding a long knife and advancing toward several alarmed shoppers. The footage also captured hundreds of people fleeing for the exits of the mall during the stabbing rampage.
Cooke said at a press conference that around 3:10 p.m., the suspect "moved through the center" in a group of approximately "nine people" within the mall and launched his attack, inflicting "harm to those people we believe by stabbing them."
The knifeman, believed to be 40 years old, initially left the mall only to return after a while.
At around 3:20 p.m., the assailant returned and carried out multiple stabbings, resulting in the deaths of six shoppers, comprising five women and one man.
Shocking footage captured the man, wearing a Kangaroos jersey representing the Australian rugby league team, running through the center armed with a large knife.
A senior female officer immediately jumped into action and chased the man on the top level of the center.
When he turned to confront her and raised his knife, she fired her gun, killing the offender. The attacker died at the scene despite the officer's attempts to resuscitate him through CPR.
Witnesses recounted seeking refuge in nearby stores for approximately 30 minutes before the harrowing ordeal concluded. One woman present said she saw paramedics in tears following the traumatizing event.
NSW Police assured the community that the attacker had acted alone and said that there was no ongoing threat. While the attacker has yet to be formally identified, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed that he was known to law enforcement.
Authorities said that the attack is not believed to be linked to terrorism.
