Concerns had been raised about the competency of the security guard whose job it was to monitor CCTV footage the day Joel Cauchi murdered six people inside a Bondi shopping centre, an inquest has heard.
The court heard that after the woman had received additional training in the weeks leading up to the attack, there was a note about her performance stating she was “not getting better”.
It came after two other security guards gave evidence at the inquest into Cauchi killing six people at the Westfield Bondi Junction in April 2024. Both guards said there had been a breakdown in communication because to their radio channel was busy with “so much chatter”.
The two guards also spoke about the “fear and chaos” they faced as the events unfolded.
Cauchi killed Ashlee Good, 38, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, 27, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, and Faraz Tahir, 30, and injured 10 others. He was shot and killed by New South Wales police inspector Amy Scott.
A former project and training manager from security subcontractor Glad Group gave evidence on Thursday, saying he could not remember any “red flags” being raised about the security guard, who was the control room operator the day of the attack. The woman cannot be named for legal reasons.
This was despite notes saying she was “not getting better”, from meetings held between Glad and Scentre Group, which owns Westfield, in the weeks before the stabbings.
“I don’t recall any issues in terms of (her) performance being raised with me,” he told the court.
“That’s your evidence on oath?” counsel assisting Emma Sullivan said.
“Yes,” he replied.
He later agreed that there was pressure to get through the training quickly due to staffing shortfalls.
The court heard that during training, the guard, who started in her role almost four months before the attack, twice incorrectly answered a question about security’s two main objectives when facing an active armed offender: to get people to safety and send information to the police.
She was alone in the control room on 13 April, the day of the murders, and was in the bathroom and not monitoring the CCTV when Cauchi began his attack. The CCTV system in the mall includes 700 cameras.
Another senior security guard who gave evidence on Thursday said he sent another “trusted” guard to the control room to assist after he got the first distress call for help, but that he regrets not personally also going there.
‘Just a glimpse would be traumatising’
The same senior security guard, whose name also remains under a non-publication order, told the court that the guards have been so heavily traumatised by the stabbing attack that many have been unable to return to work.
“Not everyone understands the fear and chaos we faced,” he told the inquest.
“Many [security guards] showed great courage performing CPR and taking people to safety as best [they] could.”
The senior guard reflected: “It’s easy to say ‘I wish we did better’, but in the actual moment it’s different.
“We go through training and it’s good training but when the scenario actually happens you’re in flight or fight mode, and it’s just survival instinct.
“I wish we did better, I wish we did different.”
When an initial distress call on the security staff radio alerted to “lots of blood” and urging guards to hurry, the security guard told the inquest he thought someone was possibly having a heart attack, had fallen and struck their head.
CCTV footage played to the court showed the security guard running through the mall, and a group of people standing outside a store direct him down the escalator towards some of Cauchi’s victims.
After reaching the victims and seeing people gathered around trying to help, the guard said his first instinct had been to run and get privacy screens.
Asked by Sue Chrysanthou SC if he got the privacy screens because bystanders were filming the victims, the man said he didn’t recall noticing that. Chrysanthou is acting on behalf of some of the families.
“I saw kids around, that was my main concern,” the man explained.
“I’m a father, so I saw those kids and I knew just a glimpse would be traumatising.”
After returning with the screens, he removed his suit jacket and began to help administer CPR.
He then heard gunshots. He later learned the shots were fired by Scott and had killed Cauchi.
“I thought I was being shot at,” he recalled.
He and others ran into a nearby shop. Finding out there was no fire exit in the store, he said he told a shop manager: “I’m not going to die here and if [Cauchi] comes to the door we have to do something.”
The man told the court that communications were difficult over the radio channel because it was busy with “so much chatter”.
He said he heard on his radio that the “person of interest was down” so he felt safe to come out of the store.
He told another security guard to get first aid equipment and he left the store to flag down and brief paramedics.
Asked what lessons could be learned from the incident, he said there could be better training for guards in the control room, which holds CCTV and emergency alert controls.
He agreed there were concerns about the capability of the guard in the control room that day. “She had trouble understanding other people,” the senior guard said. “She was new to the role, still gaining experience.”
Concluding his evidence, the guard read aloud a note he had written, praising his colleagues and describing the ongoing effects of the deadly attack.
“I see your strength, I recognise your pain and I’m truly grateful to every single one of you. Thank you for being there with me.”
The inquest, scheduled for five weeks, continues.
– Additional reporting by AAP
• This article was amended on 9 May 2025 to correct the name of the counsel assisting from Peggy Dwyer to Emma Sullivan.
