Hero cop, survivors and victims’ families return to scene of Bondi heartbreak

It was the reunion everyone there wished they did not have to have.

Hero police Inspector Amy Scott, surviving security guard Muhammad Taha and the men who helped to save Ashlee Good’s baby were among hundreds gathered under a blue-sky day in Bondi Junction on Sunday to mark one year since the unimaginable stabbing attack unfolded inside Westfield.

NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott (centre) speaks to NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Good, 38, Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, 27, Faraz Tahir, 30, and Pikria Darchia, 55, were killed on April 13, 2024, and 10 others were injured, by mentally ill man Joel Cauchi, who was shot dead by Scott.

“Today’s pretty hard for me. I’d prefer to not be here, but I want to make her feel like I’m standing next to her and I hope that she’s looking at me and my brother from wherever she is with my dad,” Darchia’s son Irakli Dvali told the Herald.

“I’m here for her. I just miss her very much. Honestly, I’m not used to the fact, and I’m probably not going to get used to it.

Irakli Dvali (centre) and his brother lay flowers to honour their mother, victim Pikria Darchia.Credit: Edwina Pickles

“I’m thankful for my mum. I’m thankful for her that we lived for as long as we did together.”

Dvali, who looked up to the sky with his brother before laying roses in bursts of hot pink and white, said the day brought up questions the family hope are answered at an inquest into the tragedy later this month.

“So no one has to go through what we did, and other victims’ families,” he said.

Sheraz and Muzafar Tahir wore their brother’s Westfield security guard badges on their lapels, honouring the loss of Faraz on his first day shift in the shopping centre.

Surviving security guard Muhammad Taha shed a tear as he left a bouquet.Credit: Edwina Pickles

“You were too young, too gentle and too kind to leave the earth so soon. May you be safe in heaven now,” one of their cards read. “You are alive in our heart and will always remain alive,” said the other.

In notes pinned to a bouquet atop the rainbow of flowers, Good’s loved ones wrote: “Life just isn’t the same.”

“Ash, I miss your smile, your kindness, your voice … the time just being together doing what sisters do,” one read.

Brothers Joe and Rick Tomarchio helped to save victim Ashlee Good’s baby.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Good thrust her baby into the arms of strangers for help after they were both stabbed by Cauchi. Those men, brothers Joe and Rick Tomarchio, were among dozens to leave a floral tribute, along with Taha, who still carries signs of his injuries after he and Tahir were also set upon.

Tears streamed down the faces of onlookers in Oxford Street mall on Sunday as NSW Premier Chris Minns, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, NSW Governor Margaret Beazley and other dignitaries paid their respects.

“I can only imagine what those families are going through one year on,” Minns told Nine’s Today show on Sunday morning.

“They’d be thinking about their loved ones, what they would have achieved over the last 12 months, and what lay ahead of them if they were still with us.”

He said the loss of six bright and hopeful lives made the day “so harrowing and difficult for the people involved”.

Webb said it had been one of the most horrific events in the country’s history.

“[It is] certainly a day that first responders, from wherever they came from, will never forget,” she said.

The victims of the Bondi Junction attack. (clockwise from top left) Ashlee Good, Jade Young, Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Tahir and Pikria Darchia.

In a statement, Webb added: “Our hearts are with their families who continue to endure unimaginable grief and do their best to carry on.

“Hundreds of people, including police, paramedics and civilians, were all first responders on this horrific day. They are heroes, risking their own lives in an effort to save victims and nurse the wounded during what can only be described as a senseless tragedy.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remembered the six lives that were stolen on “what should have been just another Saturday”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns is flanked by Governor-General Sam Mostyn and NSW Governor Margaret Beazley.Credit: Edwina Pickles

“We hold on to all they were and all they had ahead of them,” Albanese said in a statement.

“This should not be an anniversary. They should still be here – with their families, their friends and in their communities, with all their hopes and dreams and joys that are the very essence of life.”

Elliott Rusanow, chief executive of Westfield’s owner Scentre Group, recognised it was a time of “immense grief and sorrow” for those affected by the attack, including the families and loved ones of the victims.

“It is impossible to fathom their loss,” he said.

Rusanow said counselling and mental health support was still being provided. Onsite chaplains were available to the crowd.

A mandatory inquest into the tragedy will begin on April 28. Issues to be examined include Cauchi’s mental health treatment, the shopping centre procedures and the media response.

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