In New South Wales on April 13th, 2024, an ambulance officer named Christopher Wilkinson found himself unable to reach victims of the Bondi Junction stabbing, feeling frustrated over the lack of access to injured patients who might be in critical condition. Six people were lethally stabbed by Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old man with schizophrenia, at the Westfield shopping center. Wilkinson arrived at the scene around 4:03 PM; Cauchi had embarked on his stabbing spree starting at around 3:33 PM and was shot dead by police inspector Amy Scott at approximately 3:38 PM, injuring 10 others in the process.
Christopher Wilkinson had suggested he traveled from Bankstown to Bondi Junction in an ambulance equipped with blood, plasma, and surgical capability. He accounted for attempting to aid a baby in need of help and being informed by a doctor that another victim urgently needed care, yet a CareFlight medical team was dispatched to handle the case, while paramedics, including Wilkinson, were not granted access to the Westfield facility.
Upon learning of the establishment of a “hot zone,” which he assumed was due to the possibility of a second offender, Wilkinson felt a delay in response time might have occurred and lamented the inefficiency, emphasizing that such delays could potentially cost lives. He suggested that paramedics should have been allowed with police escort to enter the hot zone, but he recognized the rationale for its designation, noting the challenges posed by the shopping center’s alarm that day.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/30/bondi-junction-stabbing-attack-inquest-nsw-paramedic-ntwnfb
