Many children who were inside Westfield Bondi Junction at the time of the deadly stabbing attack were aware of the unfolding situation before their parents, a security expert claims.
Queenslander Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed six people to death and seriously wounded 12 others in a killing spree before being shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott at the shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Security expert analyses Bondi massacre.
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Security expert Scott Taylor said guards spent “a lot of time” training and working on their situational awareness to be prepared for such a crisis.
“We saw from some of the footage, people that were in close proximity just unfortunately weren’t aware,” he told Sunrise.
“At times we saw, in some of the footage, it was the children that were aware before the parents.”
Taylor went on to commend the brave actions of many young retail workers, who were seen getting many of the shoppers into their stores and into back rooms to safety as the situation unfolded.
“Retailers and security teams are pressure tested so they don’t have that chance of failure when these things occur and to be able to respond so quickly and calmly is crucial,” he said.
“Because under stress and duress people gravitate towards calm, and during this time we’ve had some young retailers that people have gravitated to.”
Taylor said he believed those brave actions saved lives.
Meanwhile, former NSW detective Peter Moroney told Sunrise his advice for Sydney parents and families left shaken by the incident was to try to “get on with life” as best they could.
“My kids like to go to the shopping centre … and I can understand parents would resonate with that, it is supposed to be a safe place for kids to come together,” he said.
“Don’t let it beat you … yes, it is daunting what happened, and it is upsetting, but we have to move forward.
“We cannot bow down or take a step back, we have got to move forward and just keep getting on with life.
“I know that sounds harsh … but otherwise we’re going to place our kids into a bubble and that could create more fear.”
Among those killed was 38-year-old osteopath Ashlee Good, whose nine-month-old daughter was also injured during the mass stabbing and remained in intensive care on Sunday after undergoing emergency surgery.
The other fatal victims have been identified as 38-year-old osteopath Ashlee Good, 25-year-old daughter of multi-millionaire businessman John Singleton Dawn Singleton, security guard Faraz Tahir, mother-of-two Jade Young, 55-year-old Pikria Darchia, and Chinese national Yixuan Cheng, a student aged in her early 20s.