Major update on Sydney stabbing as Ashlee Good’s baby daughter moved out of intensive care after mum died protecting her
A BABY girl injured in a senseless knife attack at a shopping centre in Sydney has been moved out of intensive care.
The nine-month-old daughter of osteopath Dr Ashlee Good, who died in hospital, underwent surgery after being stabbed in her pram.
The injured baby suffered chest and arm injuries in the knife attack and is now in a serious but stable condition, a health official said.
Dr Ashlee Good, 38, was one of six people – including five women and one man – who were killed on Saturday by knifeman Joel Cauchi, 40.
The twisted killer is believed to have unleashed terror at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre by first stabbing the baby, before fatally wounding her mum.
Horrified witnesses later recalled seeing the knifeman “run up to the woman with the baby”.
One man told 9News Sydney on Saturday: “The baby got stabbed.
“The mum got stabbed and the mum came over with the baby and threw it at me. I was holding the baby, it looked pretty bad.”
Shoppers pressed shirts to the mum and her baby’s wounds to try and stop the bleeding, but said their injuries were “very bad”.
Cauchi was shot dead by police in the shopping centre after turning and raising a knife at an inspector.
Six people are still in hospital, including the baby girl and two women in intensive care, a New South Wales spokesperson said.
Another six injured people have been discharged from hospital.
On Monday, New South Wales health minister Ryan Park said the baby’s condition had been moved from critical to serious.
He said: “That’s a big change and a significant improvement. What we hope to do is get the baby on the ward in the coming days. That would be a great outcome.
“Her dad and her family are receiving significant support as you could imagine. But in the darkest of times comes sometimes the brightest of lights and it’s something our whole country was holding its breath and hoping she started to improve.
“And certainly over the last 24 hours we’ve seen that improvement.”
A special force has been created to investigate the attack and determine how and why killer Cauchi carried out such violence.
The surfer turned male escort was known to police for mental health-related reasons and, according to cops, had an “obvious” goal of targeting women in his deadly knife rampage.
Cauchi’s dad, Andrew, said when asked why his son may have targeted women: “He wanted a girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his brain.”
It comes as police probe the circumstances surrounding another stabbing in Sydney, which took place yesterday.
The 16-year-old “terrorist” who stabbed a bishop was released on good behaviour for knife crime just months ago, it has been revealed.
A YouTube livestream recorded the horror moment the teen lunged at Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and repeatedly stabbed him in a church as witnesses screamed.
Cops yesterday declared the horror stabbing a “terror act”.
It has since been revealed that the suspect teen was charged with knife possession and intent to commit an offence in November last year – but was soon released on a good behaviour bond, ABC reports.