<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A security control room operator's triple-zero call during a shopping centre's deadly stabbing attack was made too late and she was unclear about what was actually happening, a counterterrorism expert says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The officer had left the control room in the Westfield centre in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="_blank" title="Sydney's Bondi Junction"><span>Sydney's Bondi Junction</span></a><span> for a toilet break when Joel Cauchi, 40, launched his stabbing spree at Westfield Bondi Junction in April 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He killed six people and injured 10 others over three minutes before being shot dead by NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/joe-biden-cancer-things-to-know-about-bidens-prostate-cancer-diagnosis/2857c117-c868-4d0e-8119-5f67df66a384"><strong><span>How treatable is Joe Biden's 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The security officer returned to the control room and only spoke to a triple-zero operator 10 minutes after the incident occurred, an inquest into the tragedy was told today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In audio of that call, the guard - who cannot be legally identified - said there was an armed offender within the facility and that shots had been fired.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Do you know if anyone's been injured there?" the operator asks.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-stabbing-details-mixed-up-in-triplezero-call/05d9fab0-6bc9-4c12-b1c3-e46dc87aba65" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're not aware," the guard replied.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She then changed her answer, saying three to four people had been injured and two people stabbed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the NSW Coroners Court today, international counterterrorism, policing and security expert Scott Wilson called this response "inadequate".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was just all mixed up and it should have been a lot clearer," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ten minutes in is just not good enough."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-education-school-student-biometric-data-collected-for-weeks-before-department-became-aware/ceb9e264-caee-4f4e-af9e-ab437513be9a"><strong><span>Microsoft Teams collected students' biometric data unnoticed</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said the call may have suggested that both a gun and a knife had been used by the attacker.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wilson said he could not believe the security guard was not aware of the extent of the casualties by the time she made the call.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She must know she's dealing with multiple victims of a stabbing," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Giving unclear information to the triple-zero operator could have led to confusion among attending police operators, the court was told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While at the time, police knew that Cauchi was the sole armed offender who had been shot, information could have come in from the triple-zero call about another potential offender with a gun, Wilson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also questioned why the security guard remained in the room instead of being replaced by someone more competent as the emergency and its aftermath unfolded.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This was despite obvious deficiencies in her knowledge being flagged prior to the attacks. Further training had been scheduled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you've not got faith in her, why leave her in that room?" Wilson asked.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He acknowledged changes in procedures made after the incident by Scentre Group, which runs the Bondi Junction Westfield.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>These include that two people have to remain in the control room at all times, and that officers do not need to get authorisation from their superiors before calling triple zero in an emergency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cauchi was experiencing psychotic symptoms at the time of his stabbing spree after being diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He had been successfully treated with antipsychotics for decades before his private psychiatrist formed a plan to wean him off the medication.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By mid-2019, he was not taking any more medication, and by early 2020 he had stopped seeing a psychiatrist regularly after moving from Toowoomba to Brisbane.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></a><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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