Sydney knife attacker who killed six at mall 'was targeting women'

AUSTRALIAN police said today it was "obvious" that a man who went on a knife rampage in a Sydney shopping centre had targeted women.

- Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Five of the six people killed by homeless assailant Joel Cauchi at the Westfield Bondi Junction mall were female.

The majority of the 12 others injured in the attack, which took place near Bondi Beach, were also women.

The female victims were Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, Ashlee Good, 38, and Chinese student Cheng Yixuan, 27.

Ms Good's nine-month-old daughter Harriet was also stabbed. She had surgery and her condition improved last night from critical to serious. The only man killed was security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, who tried to intervene.