NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, the officer who shot dead Bondi Junction attacker Joel Cauchi, has publicly spoken about the moments before she pulled the trigger to end his deadly attack.
Inspector Scott has been hailed for her heroism in stopping Cauchi amid his deadly stabbing spree at the crowded shopping centre on April 13, 2024. Working alone, Scott shot Cauchi after he fatally stabbed six people, including five women, in Westfield Bondi Junction. She is credited with potentially saving lives.
On Tuesday, Inspector Scott took to the witness box during a five-week coronial inquest into the devastating mass attack.
Scott recalled that she had been nearby in Bondi when she heard a scanner broadcast announcement about an incident at Bondi Junction Westfield. People were pouring out of the shopping centre as she approached.
“People were saying ‘there’s a guy in there with a knife, he’s stabbing people, killing people … you’ve got to help us, please get in there’,” Scott recalled at the inquest on Tuesday.
“I saw a lady and a pram, two ladies and a pram, one had run away, but another had hidden behind a large pot plant about 15 metres on the other side of Joel. I mouthed at her to ‘run’,” she said.
“For a second (Cauchi) turned as if he was going to go that way and at that point I yelled out ‘mate’ to get his attention back to me.”
Scott said she concluded the offender was active and armed, and she could not wait for backup. She raced inside to the fifth level of the shopping centre where Cauchi was located.
“I was conscious it was school holidays, a lot of people were in the mall at the time and I didn’t want to hurt anyone else,” she said.
“As long as I’m chasing this guy, hopefully he’s not going to do any more damage.”
Inspector Scott said Cauchi sprinted toward her with a large knife out.
“He was going to kill me,” Scott told the inquest.
Inspector Scott fired her gun three times, the inquest heard, with two hitting Cauchi and the other hitting a nearby pot plant.
Asked if she felt fear as she ran into the shopping centre, Scott replied: “I actually felt nauseous as I ran in, because in my head I’d resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to die.”
‘It restored my faith in humanity’
At the inquest, Inspector Scott recognised the bravery of other police officers and first responders who were on the scene that day.
“We think that police don’t feel fear, don’t feel the burden and pressures of what everyday humans do,” Scott said.
“I can assure you that they do. I can assure you, on that day, that they were the people running in.
“And whilst I was the person that faced Joel, those young officers ran [into Bondi Westfield] with the exact same intentions.
“That day, as tragic as it is, it gave me faith in humanity, restored some faith in humanity and the goodness of the people.”
As the inquest continues, there is continued discussion about the failures of the mental health system that led to Cauchi falling through the cracks. Cauchi was living with schizophrenia and had come off his medication about five years before the attack.
On Monday, the inquest heard that Cauchi had made online searches for serial killers in the days leading up to the attack.
Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Marks also said that Cauchi had not launched the attack specifically targeting women.
“He appeared to attack people who were not ready, that didn’t know what was happening,” he told the court.
“I just believe that whoever was in his way — where he was running — was who he attacked.”
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