'Videos speak for themselves': It's obvious Sydney mall killer targeted women, say Australian police

• Joel Cauchi was identified as the attacker to killed six people at a Sydney mall.
• He targeted women, said New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb.
• Australia's national flag has been set at half-mast at major venues.

Australian police have said they believe a man who fatally six stabbed people at a busy Sydney shopping centre specifically targeted women.

Five women and one man were killed on Saturday when a 40-year-old man went on a stabbing spree in the beach suburb of Bondi.

The women killed in the attack were identified as a 55-year-old designer, a 47-year-old architect and volunteer surf lifesaver, the 25-year-old daughter of an entrepreneur, a 27-year-old student from China and a 38-year-old new mother.

A 30-year-old Pakistani security guard, who reportedly tried to stop the attacker, was the only man killed in the attack.

The majority of those injured in the attack were also women.

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New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb said on Monday that it was "obvious" the suspected attacker, Joel Cauchi, singled out women.

Webb told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC):

"The videos speak for themselves, don't they? That's certainly a line for inquiry for us."

Webb said officers were in the process of interviewing people close to Cauchi to gain "some insight into what he might have been thinking".

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the gender breakdown of the victims was "concerning".

"The gender breakdown is of course concerning - each and every victim here is mourned," he told ABC radio.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (2nd L), New South Wales Premier Chris Minns (2nd R) and federal member of parliament Allegra Spender (L) leave flowers outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall in Sydney, the day after a 40-year-old knifeman with mental illness roamed the packed shopping centre killing six people and seriously wounding a dozen others. (David Gray/AFP)

AFP

A woman cries as she comes out of the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall after a stabbing incident in Sydney. (David Gray/ AFP)

AFP

Videos shared on social media showed Cauchi, wearing shorts and an Australian national rugby league jersey, targeting mostly female victims as he rampaged through Westfield Bondi Junction shopping complex.

The attack was brought to an end when police inspector Amy Scott shot him dead.

Australia's national flag has been set at half-mast at major venues, including the Parliament House and Sydney's Harbour Bridge, in honour of the victims.