Australian police probe why man who stabbed 6 people to death in Sydney mall targeted women

Melbourne: Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed six people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall and injured more than a...

Melbourne: Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed six people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men, a police commissioner said on Monday. The killer's father blamed his son's frustration at not having a girlfriend.

Police shot and killed the homeless assailant, Joel Cauchi, during his knife attack in the Westfield Bondi Junction mall on Saturday near world-famous Bondi Beach.

Police have ruled out terrorism and said the 40-year-old had a history of mental illness.

New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb said detectives would question Cauchi’s family in a bid to determine his motive. CCTV footage from the mall showed Cauchi targeted women with the 30 centimeter knife.

"The videos speak for themselves, don’t they? And that’s certainly a line of inquiry for us,” Webb said.