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Hero fought off Sydney knifeman as he tried to reach kids' play area

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Damien Guerot has spoken of his confrontation with the killer (Image: 7 NEWS)
Damien Guerot has spoken of his confrontation with the killer (Image: 7 NEWS)

A bystander who took on the knifeman who murdered six members of the public has spoken of his brave confrontation with the killer- who had “empty eyes”.

Joel Cauchi was earlier named as the 40-year-old who fatally stabbed , before raising the knife to a police officer who . Among his victims were 38-year-old mum Ashlee Good, whose baby was also seriously injured in the attack, 25-year-old , Jade Young, Pikria Darchia, 55, and security guard Faraz Tahir.

Amid the carnage, construction worker Damien Guerot took on the killer and stopped him from reaching the upper level, where several children were, according to the Daily Telegraph. He later told 7News: "The eyes were like empty eyes, he wasn’t there. I just see someone do something crazy.

"We tried to catch him but he was going down the stairs, then we saw him going down so we followed, tried to maybe throw the bollard at him but we couldn’t."

Hero fought off Sydney knifeman as he tried to reach kids' play area eiqekiqxrireprwJoel Cauchi has been named as the attacker in Sydney's Westfield shopping centre attacks

Earlier today chilling posts made by Cauchi resurfaced as NSW Police investigate his background to probe possible motives for the evil killing spree. Cauchi, from Brisbane, had left a one-star review of the Brisbane-based business on Facebook, after getting two knives honed which he said had been dulled down.

Two New York cops stabbed during celebrations in Times SquareTwo New York cops stabbed during celebrations in Times Square
Hero fought off Sydney knifeman as he tried to reach kids' play areaThe victims of the tragedy in Australia

Cauchi, who was known to police, also advertised himself online as a male escort and tried to join groups of gun owners. In a post on a Facebook group in December 2020, Cauchi wrote: "I am looking for groups of people who shoot guns, including handguns, to meet up with, chat with and get to know."

In 2021, he posted about a knife business, saying: "Dealing with this business has been a nightmare for me. I put in two knives (one of which is pretty expensive) to be sharpened and he blunted them both".

Hero fought off Sydney knifeman as he tried to reach kids' play areaThe killer in the Sydney shopping mall

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb also told media on Saturday evening that the suspect was "known to law enforcement", and that there was no clear "ideation" at the time which would immediately suggest a motive.

Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said Cauchi is believed to have come to New South Wales Police last month and that police had spoken to his family, who were co-operating with the investigation. He told a press conference: "As I had said last night, there is still to this point nothing that we have, no information we have received, no evidence we have recovered, no intelligence we have gathered would suggest this was driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise.”

Antony Clements-Thrower

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