Nearly two years after a tragic incident where a man with schizophrenia fatally stabbed six individuals at a suburban shopping center, the families and friends of the victims are about to gain insight into what led to the horrific event.
In addition to the fatalities, ten people, including an infant, were injured by the 40-year-old assailant who was suffering from a psychotic episode.
The attacker, Cauchi, was ultimately shot and killed as he charged towards New South Wales Police Inspector Amy Scott, the first officer to arrive at the scene.
Following an emotionally charged five-week inquest, Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan is set to release a comprehensive report today, detailing her findings and proposed recommendations.
The inquest aims to scrutinize the potential shortcomings in the response from security personnel, police officers, and emergency medical services.
Evidence presented during the inquest suggested that the 77 seconds between the initial and final stabbings could have been crucial, indicating that an earlier alarm might have saved at least one life.
The incident turned security guards’ worst fears into reality, United Workers Union spokesperson Nicholas Richardson told AAP.
While guards had been pushing for more engagement from companies and clients, there hadn’t been huge steps to make that happen, he said.
The coroner will determine if more could have been done in treating Cauchi when he lived in Toowoomba, Queensland, and afterwards when he moved to Brisbane.
The 40-year-old had stopped taking antipsychotics before the move and did not find another psychiatrist in the state capital.
He was homeless at the time of the Westfield attack.
Australian Society of Psychiatrists executive director Pramudie Gunaratne hoped the recommendations would be a “turning point” towards genuine mental health reform.
“What we saw on that day was a young man who was seriously unwell but left in free fall without mental health support for four years,” she told AAP.
“The most gut-wrenching thing about all of this is that even after such an incredible tragedy, little seems to have changed.”
The families of the victims have also asked O’Sullivan to examine any shortfalls in media coverage of the incident.
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