The latest updates on the Bondi Junction Westfield attack.

There have been multiple casualties following an attack at Bondi Junction's Westfield shopping centre in Sydney on Saturday April 13, during which several people were stabbed. Six people died in the attack, while four who were hospitalised with injuries have been released from hospital. Eight remain in care.

Five of the people murdered in the attack were women, and have been identified as Ashlee Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Chinese national Yixuan Cheng, and Prikria Darchia, 55.

One man was also killed — Westfield Bondi Junction security guard Faraz Tahir, 30.

At a press conference on Monday morning, Health Minister Ryan Park shared that the nine-month-old baby who was stabbed during the attack (the daughter of victim Ashlee Good) has improved from critical condition to serious condition.

Park said they hope to "get the baby on the ward in the coming days. That would be a great outcome. Her dad and her family are receiving significant support as you could imagine."

NSW Premier Chris Minns also said up to $18 million will be forwarded to the State Coroner to "establish an independent coronial inquest".

The inquest will look into the NSW Police response and the offender's interactions with the NSW and Qld governments.

Minns also announced that the government has requested advice from the NSW Police and Cabinet Office for information on the "current restrictions" on security guards in NSW. He said they would consider "any additional measures to keep the public safe".

So far, eight victims remain in the hospital while four have been discharged. Families of the victims, said Minns, have been offered individual liaison officers to provide timely information, counselling and financial assistance, including support for economic loss. 

Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke also announced during Monday morning's press conference that NSW Police has made contact with two of the victims whose families are overseas. One of the families is expected to arrive in Australia today, but Cooke was "not sure" about the second family.

Cooke also announced that arrangements are continuing for people to reclaim vehicles and personal property left at Westfield Bondi Junction.

"Arrangements are continuing for people to reclaim their cars," Cooke said, adding that "900 out of the 1,500 which were present have now been collected."

Cooke thanked staff at the shopping centre for "supporting us [and] police in the investigation." 

Earlier on Monday, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said it is obvious from footage of the attack that the offender targeted women during Saturday's attack.

"The videos speak for themselves, don't they? That's certainly a line of inquiry for us. It's obvious to me, it's obvious to detectives that it seems to be an area of interest that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men," Webb told ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning.

However, the offender's motivation for the attack remain unclear, she said.

"We don't know what was operating in the mind of the offender and that's why it's important now that detectives spend so much time interviewing those who know him, were around him, close to him. So we can get some insight into what he might have been thinking," she said.

"We won't know necessarily but we have to take a judgement from those who know him."

At a press conference on Sunday morning, Webb said eight of the people injured in the incident are women and at the time, said that investigating if the attack was targeted at women was an "obvious line of inquiry".

"At this stage, we don't know a motive. What we do understand, so far, is that there's no ideological motivation," she said. 

"We do understand that there is a history of mental health but it will be the ongoing work of the investigators to determine what his activities were yesterday and the days before."

Webb said police were continuing to work through the "very confronting" and "very traumatic" crime scene throughout the day and into the night as part of the investigation, which may take weeks.

Minns also spoke about Saturday's "horrifying and violent attack".

"The individual stories of those who've been killed, the complete strangers rushing in to help, as well as acts of courage and bravery, mean that whether you know the individuals who've been killed or not, you're grieving today," he said.

"The entire state will have to get behind those families in the days ahead as they recover and they go through the inevitable grief associated with such a horrifying, horrifying event."

Minns and Webb both praised the actions and "instinctive bravery" of Amy Scott, the officer who ran towards danger and saved many lives.

In a statement released shortly after 9am on Sunday, police confirmed that 12 people, "including nine women, two men and a nine-month-old child — suffering stab wounds were treated by paramedics and taken to various Sydney hospitals".

Police identified the attacker as 40-year-old Joel Cauchi from Queensland. It is believed he moved to NSW last month, and "took possession of a storage facility". 

"We are continuing investigations in relation to him," Cooke said. "We are, and have, spoken with his family. We will continue to do so, and they are cooperating with us.

"We know that the offender in the matter suffered from mental health. We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage it would appear that this is related to the mental health of the individual involved. Investigations will very clearly continue..."

Speaking about Inspector Amy Scott, Cooke said, "Can I just say how proud we are of the actions of the officer involved. She is receiving all of the support that she requires."

In an earlier press conference held on Saturday evening, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed that six victims had died, including four women and one man who died on the scene, and a fifth woman who passed away later in hospital.

The woman who died in hospital has been identified as 38-year-old new mum Ashlee Good, whose nine-month-old baby was also stabbed. The child is "currently doing well", according to a statement from their family, who remember her as an "all-around outstanding human". 

"Today we are reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all-round outstanding human and so much more," the family wrote.

"We appreciate the well wishes and thoughts of members of the Australian public who have expressed an outpouring of love for Ashlee and our baby girl.

"We can report that after hours of surgery yesterday, our baby is currently doing well. We are so grateful for the expert care and attention of the medical team at Sydney Children's Hospital.

"We would also like to thank the New South Wales Police for their kindness and diligence in this tragedy and emergency services for getting our baby the care she needed as quickly as possible.

"To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not — words cannot express our gratitude.

"We are struggling to come to terms with what has occurred. We would appreciate peace and privacy while we work through this as a family."

Dawn Singleton was also identified as one of the victims of Saturday's attack. She was just 25, and the eldest daughter of Australian businessman, John Singleton, and lawyer, Julie Martin. She was engaged to marry her high school sweetheart, NSW Police officer Ash Wildey, whom she had been dating since 2014.

"They've been together forever," a source told Mamamia.

He had proposed to her in Rome, Italy, in 2022.

A third victim has been identified as Jade Young, a mother of two and architect from Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. 

The fourth victim named, and the only man to die in the attack, was 30-year-old Faraz Tahir, who worked as a security guard for the shopping centre. Faraz arrived in Australia just a year ago, fleeing persecution in his home country of Pakistan. According to a statement by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia, he "quickly became an integral part of our community, known for his unwavering dedication and kindness".

Pikria Darchia was the fifth victim named, a 55-year-old artist from Georgia in Eastern Europe. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, she has two sons.

The sixth victim of Saturday's Westfield Bondi Junction attack has been named as Yixuan Cheng. Yixuan was a Chinese national who was studying in Australia.

Twelve others have been treated for serious to critical injuries related to the attack, with eight currently remaining in hospital.

During a statement on Sunday, Minns thanked emergency responders and individuals at the shopping centre for their "instinctive bravery".

"Firstly the doctors, the paramedics as well as the nurses who worked about the clock to save lives and did an amazing job in circumstances, to the everyday people who showed instinctive bravery under terrible circumstances and to Amy Scott who ran towards danger and without a shadow of a doubt saved many lives in the last 24 hours," Minns said.

"The best in this state confronted one of the worst acts we've ever seen. We are grateful for the men and women who stood up."

Emergency services were called to Westfield Bondi Junction about 3:40 pm on Saturday. Paramedics treated patients at the scene, and police declared the situation a critical incident. NSW Ambulance says people were taken to hospital with stab wounds and remain in a serious and/or critical condition, including a nine-month-old baby, who was taken to Sydney's Children's Hospital.

Police confirmed there was one offender who was fatally shot at the scene. Police inspector Amy Scott had confronted the offender who moved to level five [of the shopping centre] as she continued to walk quickly behind him to catch up with him. He raised the knife at her and she discharged her firearm. She shot and killed the attacker on the scene.

Police Commissioner Webb said that Scott "showed enormous courage and bravery" and "is doing well under the circumstances".

"The other point I want to make is the police officer who attended is enormously courageous. I spoke to [the police officers who attended the scene] this afternoon when they returned to the station, [and] also the shopkeepers and people in the centre who showed enormous bravery and courage. 

"It could have been much worse."

In a press conference held on Saturday afternoon, police confirmed there were no further alleged offenders.

"This person has acted alone. We are content there is no continuing threat. We are making an attempt to identify the offender in this matter," Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke said during the conference.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a statement via Twitter, saying he had been briefed by Australian Federal Police on the matter.

I have been briefed by the AFP on the devastating events at Bondi Junction.

Tragically, multiple casualties have been reported and the first thoughts of all Australians are with those affected and their loved ones.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 13, 2024

"The baby got stabbed. The mum got stabbed. She came over with the baby, threw it at me and I was holding the baby, it looked pretty bad. I was helping hold and trying to compress the baby and same with the mother, trying to compress the blood. We were calling the ambulance and police. There was a lot of blood on the floor," the duo, who are brothers, said.

They had been shopping when the situation unfolded.

"We had to run in [to one of the stores], told the guys to lock up the doors and then the mother came with the baby, stabbed and bleeding. We got them into the store, safe and then rang for help."

They continued: "I hope the baby is alright. It was [a traumatic afternoon]. We kept yelling out to get some clothes and shirts and help us compress and stop the baby from bleeding. I think the baby is fine. The mother unfortunately, another woman and I were compressing, she started to have a lot of blood come out of her mouth."

#BREAKING: Live interview with man who helped a baby that had been stabbed during the Bondi Westfield attacks earlier today. #9News pic.twitter.com/W5vilq0FTJ

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) April 13, 2024

Further eyewitnesses told ABC News that "it's one of those moments that's just surreal".

Waverley Council said on social media the shopping centre was in lockdown and advised against unnecessary travel to Bondi Junction.

Multiple posts on social media showed crowds of people outside the shopping centre. Witnesses said they sought shelter in stores as the attack unfolded, people seen evacuating the centre in tears.

POLICE OPERATION: A police operation is currently underway at Westfield Bondi Junction. The centre is locked down amid reports of multiple stabbings. No further information is available at this stage. Please avoid any unnecessary travel to the Bondi Junction CBD.

— Waverley Council (@WaverleyCouncil) April 13, 2024

That was close… heard gunshots at Westfield Bondi Junction during haircut… then people running and shop shutters going down before evac siren. Thank you to staff at @justcutssalons BJ who helped us exit. Prayers for any victims. Please don’t let this be the new normal pic.twitter.com/Z9AOuPvCeb

— Mark Hudson (@mhudson) April 13, 2024

"I was hiding in the back room and just hearing shots. It was just the wildest thing. I saw a woman lying on the ground. I was running. It was insanity. I wasn't expecting it. I thought I was going to die," one woman at the shopping centre told ABC News.

Another woman, Steph, said: "I was in David Jones and the shutters came down at the front of the store. There was no panic at that point, but a few seconds later there were gunshots. The workers moved everyone to the back of the store. Everyone was in a bit of a panic."

This article was originally published on Saturday, April 13, 2024, and has since been updated.

With AAP.

Feature Image: 9News.