Nation unites in gratitude for hero of Bondi Junction Amy Scott at candlelight vigil
Inspector Amy Scott was the person everyone turned to at the Bondi Beach candlelight vigil to commemorate the six lives lost, as the nine-month-old baby injured in the attack was cleared to leave hospital.
A heroic police officer has been embraced by a grateful nation as the Prime Minister joined a beachside vigil to remember those lost in the Bondi Junction killings.
Inspector Amy Scott, who shot Joel Cauchi dead after he killed six people, was on Sunday again the person everyone turned to – a beacon of light and bravery on a night filled with sorrow and pain.
The police officer was approached by tear-stricken mourners and colleagues relieved she could join them as the sun went down over Bondi Beach.
Inspector Scott was composed and gracious as she was greeted by wellwishers and the grieving.
In many ways, she represented all of the heroes of the stabbing that shocked the nation a week ago on Saturday: fallen security guard Faraz Tahir and his colleague Muhammad Taha who survived; “bollard man” Damien Guerot; and the pair who took Ashlee Good’s baby and rushed her to safety.
There was another beacon of light on Sunday night. As thousands gathered with Inspector Scott and Anthony Albanese to pay tribute to the five women and one man who died in the attack, Dr Good’s nine-month-old baby was cleared to leave hospital and return home to the safety of her family.
But the sorrow and the shock of that dreadful Saturday at Bondi Junction were still raw.
Candles were held for Dr Good, 38; Dawn Singleton, 25, daughter of millionaire businessman John Singleton; mother of two Jade Young, 47; artist Pikria Darchia, 55; Chinese student Yixuan Cheng, 27, and Mr Tahir, 30.
The Prime Minister led the vigil, speaking of those who had been lost and those whose lives had been changed forever.
“We gather here to remember them. Our candles held against the darkness. And we offer the condolences of this community, our city, our state and our entire nation to all who loved them the most,” Mr Albanese told the gathering.
“We think of Inspector Amy Scott who ran towards danger. The security guards who made the same courageous choice.
“The first responders who acted with such speed and skill, and the everyday people who would never have imagined they would face such a moment and yet when that sternest test arrived, their first instinct was to help others at risk … people they did not know.”
Thousands crowded the hill beside the Bondi Pavilion, joined by rows uniformed of emergency service personnel as the sun went down and a week marred by loss and tragedy came to an end.
A cross was held above the heads and shoulders of those gathered to pay their respects as families and friends sat huddled together while the Cafe of the Gate of Salvation gospel choir sung Amazing Grace. Peter Dutton also attended the ceremony, alongside NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, local federal MP Allegra Spender, her electoral neighbour and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Premier Penny Sharpe and Police Commissioner Karen Webb.
Premier Chris Minns encouraged the Bondi community to remain hopeful as he spoke of the victims and the way they lived their lives. “We remember them at their happiest, living their life, doing what they loved surrounded by the people they cared about,” he said.
“Patrolling Bronte Beach on a January morning, developing their artworks, raising families, experiencing young love, crossing the world with hope in their heart.
“That is how they deserve to be remembered.”
Mr Minns also took the opportunity to speak women in the crowd after concerns were raised about the motives of the attacker. Five of the six victims killed were women.
“This is your state and your city, this is your home and you have every right to live your life as you choose, free from fear and violence,” he said.
“We will not be a state where a woman is forced to change their behaviour because of the feelings or anger of other people.”
The vigil came at the end of a day of mourning in Sydney. The Swans, in a game against the Gold Coast Suns at the Sydney Cricket Ground, wore black armbands and held a minute’s silence for the victims.
And at Westfield Bondi Junction, the flowers laid in tribute outside the shopping centre continued to grow.
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