An Australian security guard has spoken of the shortcomings in his industry after a fellow security guard was slain during a mass stabbing spree at Westfield Bondi Junction.
Queenslander Joel Cauchi, 40, stabbed six people to death and seriously wounded 12 others in a killing spree before being shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott on Saturday afternoon.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Chris Minns shares latest details on Bondi stabbing.
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Among those killed was security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, who died attempting to protect others.
It was his first day shift at the Westfield shopping centre.
Pride Security Group managing director Richard Theodorakis told 7NEWS.com.au he was devastated to hear of Tahir’s death, saying he believed the 30-year-old was not equipped to defend himself.
“I’ve worked as an armed guard and I have been in scenarios where I’ve had a weapon drawn on me, and I’ve had the tools to deal with that situation and I was able to go home that night,” he said.
“It’s sad to know that this person could have potentially had that opportunity as well to defend himself or even try to defuse the situation, but he just didn’t have those tools.”
Theodorakis added new starters were often “thrown in the deep end” in the security industry.
“We have some 50 to 60,000 security guards here in NSW, so obviously security is widely used as the first response to a crisis,” he said.
“But commonly, we don’t receive the same training as you would as a first responder.
“The sad reality is you probably get more training to work at Macca’s than you do to be a security guard.”
Theodorakis applauded Tahir’s incredible bravery during the attack on Saturday.
“When it comes to responding we have a fight or flight, and he decided to fight,” he said.
“But he did so with limited tools.
“In a Westfield we don’t see that heavy-handed security that you would see in, say, a prison.
“With a riot squad team in this scenario, the end result would be completely different … you know, the offender would likely be apprehended and taken into a court of law.”
Centre expected to reopen this week
The CEO of Scentre Group, which owns and operates the shopping centre, said a “significant number” of guards were on shift on Saturday.
They were equipped with radios but no weapons, as security guards are not allowed.
CEO Elliott Rusanow shut down claims it took up to 25 minutes after the initial attack for alarms to sound within the shopping centre, saying the alarms — which call the centre management communication system — went off “within a couple minutes of the first attack”.
“The process for the alarm system notifies all members of the team and our business partners to either evacuate or shelter in place,” he said.
“They occurred very, very quickly.”
Following this, “police were on site within a very short space of time”.
Rusanow said the organisation was devastated by the tragedy and has been in contact with the families of victims.
“A member of our team, a security guard, lost his life in trying to protect members of the public during these circumstances, as another member of our security team was injured and remains in hospital recovering from those injuries,” Rusanow said.
Rusanow said while he did not know Tahir personally, he was a “very well-regarded, important member of our team”.
“Someone we all have a tremendous amount of respect for, given he laid his down his life innocently protecting others,” he said.
The site has since been handed back to Westfield, which is now in the process of determining its reopening.
“Westfield Bondi plays a very important role for many members of the community, but we have to recognise that this has been the scene of very tragic circumstances,” he said.
Rusanow could not confirm when the centre would reopen but said it was expected to be “later this week”.
A detailed review into the incident and the centre’s response is underway, he said.
“I will say that our security team have done a marvellous job in acting swiftly and in a way that protects the public and, unfortunately, it resulted in a loss of the life of one of our team members.”
Among others killed was 38-year-old osteopath Ashlee Good, whose nine-month-old daughter was also injured during the mass stabbing and remained in intensive care on Monday after undergoing emergency surgery.
The others were later identified are Dawn Singleton, the 25-year-old daughter of multi-millionaire businessman John Singleton; mother-of-two Jade Young; 55-year-old Pikria Darchia and Chinese student Yixuan Cheng, 27.
Premier announces $18 million inquest
Meanwhile, the NSW government has announced it will provide $18 million in funding for an independent coronial inquest into the Bondi Junction stabbings.
Premier Chris Minns announced the investigation on Monday morning, saying the funding would be forwarded to the coroner’s office “immediately”, however, has ruled out allowing security guards to carry stun guns or firearms following the tragedy.
“Concurrently an assistant deputy state coroner will be appointed for all forensic investigations that take place during the period of that public inquiry,” Minns said.
“I expect that inquiry will look at not just the NSW Police response and the criminal investigation surrounding the events in Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon, but also this offender’s interactions with … government agencies, as well as, with help from the Queensland government, any interactions this man had in that state.
“I expect the police will continue their investigations and any information that leads to changes in government policy will run concurrently with the coronial independent investigation.”
The premier then ruled out changes that would allow security guards to carry guns.
“The government is not considering policy changes in relation to stun guns or firearms,” he said.
“We don’t believe that more firearms in the community is a good decision, but we’re looking at the current restrictions that are in place for equipment, for security guards, and the resulting training that would be required if there was to be a policy change.”
Minns added, however, he would never be able to say if there may have been a different outcome to the Westfield attack if guards had different equipment.
