Mall Attacker Targeted Women Because He Was Unable To Build Relationships With Them, Says Father

(NewsReady.com) – A man attacked multiple people at a mall in Sydney, Australia, on April 13. Six people were killed by the attacker, including five women. Authorities said he intentionally attacked women and the alleged suspect’s father claims there was a reason for that.

Australian police identified Joel Cauchi, 40, as the suspect in the stabbing spree at West Bondi Junction. The suspect allegedly murdered 25-year-old Dawn Singleton, 38-year-old Ashlee Good, 47-year-old Jade Young, 27-year-old Cheng Yixuan, 55-year-old Pikria Darchia, and one man, 30-year-old Faraz Tahir. Several others, including Good’s 9-month-old baby, were critically injured by the attacker.

New South Wales State Police Commissioner Karen Webb spoke to reporters and said the videos of the incident spoke for themselves. She stated that it was “obvious to detectives … that the offender focused on women and avoided the men.”

The suspect’s father, Andrew Cauchi, told the press that his son suffered from schizophrenia. He believed that “he wanted a girlfriend,” but because he didn’t have any social skills, he grew frustrated. The elder Cauchi went on to say that while he loved his son, who was killed by police, he was perceived by the public as a “monster,” but to him, he was a “very sick boy.”

This isn’t the first time hatred for women has been named as a motive for a mass killing. In 2014, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger stabbed his two roommates and a friend to death in his California home. Then he went to Starbucks and uploaded a video to YouTube titled “Retribution” and sent a manifesto to his therapist, where he detailed his hatred for women and racist beliefs.

Rodger then drove to a sorority house at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and shot three women. He went back to his car and drove through Isla Vista, shooting at other people. When his rampage was over, three more people were dead, 14 were injured, and he’d fatally shot himself.

Whether Cauchi had the same hatred for women that Rodger had has not been confirmed by Australian police. The investigation is ongoing.