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Emotions high at Bondi vigil for murdered mum Ashlee Good

Friends and family members of Ashlee Good, who was murdered during the Westfield attack, have visited a makeshift memorial in emotional scenes.

Baby daughter of Bondi massacre victim Ashlee Good moves out of ICU

Friends and family of Ashlee Good, who was murdered at the Westfield Bondi Junction massacre on Saturday, have choked up as they left flowers at a makeshift memorial.

“It’s just a travesty,” said one local at the memorial on Oxford Street, close to Westfield, in the eastern Sydney suburb.

“It’s obviously someone who is very ill. Hopefully it will bring people together”.

“The horror of handing your baby to strangers praying they can save her. Are we no longer safe at the shops”

Ms Good, 38, was one of six people killed during Joel Cauchi’s rampage in which he stormed through the Westfield shopping centre stabbing people with a knife.

The other victims have been identified as Yixuan Cheng, Pikria Darchia, Dawn Singleton, Faraz Tahir, Jade Young and Ashlee Good.

Ms Good’s nine-month-old baby Harriet was also attacked. The child is recovering in hospital and has been moved out of the intensive care unit, NSW Health has confirmed.

Bondi Westfield stabbing victim Ashlee Good.
Bondi Westfield stabbing victim Ashlee Good.
Tributes at the Bindi Junction memorial. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard
Tributes at the Bindi Junction memorial. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Some of the slain mum’s friends and family, including high profile lawyer Rebekah Giles, visited the memorial at Bondi Junction on Tuesday, which has expanded into a vast display of flowers and messages of support.

People could be seen hugging, lighting candles and laying bunches of flowers at the site in the middle of the pedestrianised mall.

“What she’s done is the instincts that mothers do to protect their children,” one tearful mourner told 9News.

Family and friends of Ashlee Good at the Bondi Junction memorial. Picture: Thomas Lisson
Family and friends of Ashlee Good at the Bondi Junction memorial. Picture: Thomas Lisson
Emotions were on display at the memorial. Picture: 9 News
Emotions were on display at the memorial. Picture: 9 News

A fundraiser for Harriet, set up with the approval of the Good family, has secured more than $500,000, blowing past its original $100,000 target.

Ms Good’s family released a statement after her death praising her as “a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all around outstanding human and so much more”.

“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 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.

Floral tributes at Bondi Junction after the massacre on Saturday. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard
Floral tributes at Bondi Junction after the massacre on Saturday. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

The Good family statement added that they “were struggling to come to terms with what has occurred”.

Many locals are in a state of shock from the attack. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard
Many locals are in a state of shock from the attack. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard
The Biondi memorial for the victims has continued to grow. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard
The Biondi memorial for the victims has continued to grow. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

On Monday, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said it was obvious to her and detectives that the killer had focused on women and avoided men during the 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,” Ms Webb told ABC News Breakfast.

“We don’t know what was operating in the mind of the offender and that’s why it’s important now that detectives spend as 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,” Ms Webb said.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/emotions-high-at-bondi-vigil-for-murdered-mum-ashlee-good/news-story/243cf692322fd10a6c646c501ed7d07d