On 13 April 2024, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi stabbed and killed six people and injured a further twelve in the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

[5] According to the NSW Police Force, the perpetrator entered Westfield Bondi Junction at around 3:10 pm AEST wearing a sports jersey,[6] leaving the centre before returning 10 minutes later with what onlookers described as a 30-centimetre (12 in) knife.

[7][8][9] Eyewitnesses said that he was behaving erratically, and video clips from security cameras and bystanders filming showed the perpetrator lunging at some shoppers with his weapon while ignoring others.

[10] Phone video showed one man, later identified as French construction worker Damien Guerot, preventing the perpetrator from climbing an escalator to a higher floor by brandishing a bollard at him.

[16] The perpetrator was fatally shot in the chest by a lone police inspector, Amy Scott, who confronted him on the building's fifth floor after being directed by Guerot and another French national, Silas Despreaux.

[13] At 6:15 pm, NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke, in a press conference, initially confirmed five victims had been killed along with the perpetrator, while several others remained critically injured.

Twelve others were hospitalised, including a nine-month-old girl who underwent surgery,[20] and her mother,[21] who later died in hospital,[22] raising the death toll of victims to six.

[24] On 15 April, China's Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of one Chinese national and the injury of another, stating it will closely monitor the ongoing investigation into the incident.

[9] The deceased victims were: Cheng Yixuan, 27 (Chinese: 程逸轩), a student at University of Sydney from China;[26][27][28] Pikria Darchia, 55 (Georgian: ფიქრია დარჩია), an artist and designer;[29] Ashlee Good, 38, mother of the wounded baby and daughter of former AFL player, Kerry Good;[30] Dawn Singleton, 25, daughter of entrepreneur John Singleton;[31] the only male victim, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, 30 (Urdu: فراز احمد طاہر), an unarmed security guard at the shopping centre and refugee from Pakistan;[7][24][32] and Jade Young, 47.

Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said that police had not received evidence that the attack was "driven by any particular motivation – ideology or otherwise", adding that Cauchi suffered from mental health issues.

[2][47][48] The state government also said that it would review the usage of weapons by security guards in crowded places such as shopping centres and hospitals.

Many accounts and political commentators, such as neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell,[53] "Aussie Cossack" Simeon Boikov, and conspiracy theorist Maram Susli,[54][55] targeted the student for his Jewish heritage.

[60] The Islamophobia Register of Australia recorded 46 reports of hate-related incidents following the stabbing, which it partially attributed to the misinformation released by Islamophobic figures.

[7] The centre reopened on 18 April for a "community reflection day" to allow people to pay their respects and leave floral tributes, with counselling services on site.

[71] Sympathies were also expressed by Australia's head of state, King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla,[72] the Prince and Princess of Wales,[73] Pope Francis,[74] and French President Emmanuel Macron, who also praised Damien Guerot and Silas Despreaux for confronting Cauchi.

[39] The day after the stabbing, members of the public laid flowers near the shopping centre's entrance on Oxford Street in tribute to the victims, while volunteers were deployed to offer mental health support.

[78][79] Albanese declared a national day of mourning for 15 April,[76] during which flags were flown at half-mast on government buildings and other major landmarks[80] while the Sydney Opera House was lit up with a black ribbon in the evening.