Sydney stabbing attack: Bondi Junction mall to reopen on Friday
Westfield Bondi Junction, the Sydney shopping centre where six people were killed in a stabbing attack, will reopen its door to shoppers on Friday.
Five women and one man were killed and several people, including a nine-month-old baby girl, were hospitalised following a knife attack by Joel Cauchi in the Westfield shopping centre on Saturday.
The mall, which has since been shut, will open its doors on Thursday for community members to visit the centre to pay respects to the victims.
The centre will open between 11am and 5pm with a section reserved for flower and wreath laying, announced Scentre Group, which operates Westfield malls in Australia and New Zealand.
"Having a reflection day allows members of the community to come back, in a way that is not about retail trade," chief executive Elliott Rusanow said, adding there would be no retail trade on Thursday.
"It's about paying respects, it's about coming back and feeling comfortable with coming back to Westfield Bondi."
The centre will not play any music on Thursday and a "black ribbon" symbol will be displayed instead of advertising to honour the victims, he told reporters.
Mr Rusanow said trading will resume on Friday for retailers who choose to reopen their stores amid beefed-up security.
The security would be tightened for all Westfield malls, where security guards would be made to wear enhanced protective clothing, according to the chief executive.
"It will be their [traders] choice on that day and it will be their choice when they do so," he said.
Scentre Group said the bereaved families of the victims were given the opportunity to visit the centre and some of the families had done so.
"Members did come. I was with those families yesterday and it was a very emotional experience," Mr Rusanow said.
Meanwhile, health officials said the nine-month-old injured girl was now out of the intensive care unit (ICU).
The baby girl, daughter of Ashlee Good who died during the attack, was in a serious condition but was stable.
The baby had suffered chest and arm injuries during the shopping centre attack and underwent surgery at the Sydney Children’s Hospital.
The victims of Saturday's attack have been named as Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, who worked as an architect in Sydney, 55-year-old Pikria Darchia, security guard Faraz Tahir and Chinese student Yixuan Cheng.
Good, 38, died in hospital from her wounds.
Police shot and killed the attacker, while authorities have ruled out terrorism and said the 40-year-old had a history of mental illness.
