Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Roger Lowe says the Bondi Junction attacker, Joel Cauchi, has never been arrested or charged with a criminal offence in Queensland, but was stopped by officers in December last year.
“He has been in contact with the police primarily in the last four to five years,” he said, clarifying that was from 2020 onwards.
Lowe said Cauchi was street-checked on the Gold Coast in December 2023, describing the process as “intelligence gathering”.
Police at Westfield Bondi Junction on Sunday.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
He said the offender had never been found in possession of knives in a manner that was unlawful.
Asked whether police had any information about Cauchi targeting women in particular, Lowe replied: “No.”
He said Cauchi’s family were co-operating and had contacted authorities after believing they had seen their son in footage broadcast on television yesterday.
Lowe said the family would be issuing a statement expressing condolences for the victims and welfare concerns for the police officer who fatally shot their son.
He described Cauchi as “itinerant”, moving from Kangaroo Point and Carina in Brisbane to his family’s home “in the southern police region”, and said his family were aware he was interstate but did not have regular contact.
“It is periodic contact where he may respond to a text message,” he said. “To my knowledge he is a single man.”
Lowe said Cauchi was diagnosed with a mental illness when he was 17.
The assistant commissioner said there would be an increased police presence in shopping centres “to ensure that Queenslanders are safe and Queenslanders feel safe”. However, he said police had no information or concerns about any increased threat.
“As a precaution, we certainly have increased our footprint,” he said.