Sydney police on Sunday ruled out terrorism or ideology as a motive after a man killed six people in a stabbing attack on Saturday in one of the city's busiest shopping centres.
Police were called to the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in the east of the city just before 4pm (0600 GMT) on Saturday after reports of the stabbing.
“This was a horrific scene,” Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cook said in a press conference on Sunday, confirming that the man was known to police in Queensland.
He added, “So far, there is nothing we have, no information we have received, no evidence we have obtained, or intelligence information we have collected that indicates that this (attack) had any specific motive, ideology, or otherwise.”
Cook said it was found that Kochi had mental health problems in the past and police spoke to his family after the attack.
Police said on Saturday that five of the six victims killed were women, and that a number of people, including a nine-month-old baby, were taken to hospital with stab wounds. Police said the child was in serious but stable condition.
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