International students and faculty have paid tribute to Chinese student Yixuan Cheng who was identified as the sixth person fatally stabbed in Bondi Junction Sydney on Saturday April 13.
Cheng was a 27-year-old economics student from Anhui province in central China, studying a masters degree at the University of Sydney.
“Today the flags at the university quadrangle are flying at half-mast in memory of our student and the other victims of the terrible Bondi Junction tragedy,” vice chancellor Mark Scott wrote to staff and students on April 15.
“On behalf of the university, I extend my sincere condolences to the student’s family and friends … please take time today to check in on each other, this is a deeply distressing time for our community and I encourage you to look after each other and access the support available.”
Cheng was among five other victims – one man and four women – of what police are now investigating as a gender motivated attack.
A further 12 people were injured by Queensland man Joel Cauchi, 40, who was fatally shot by police at the scene.
Cheng had reportedly just finished her university exams and was talking with her fiancé on the phone in Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre just before she was attacked.
The university’s postgraduate student association said the lives of many would be touched by Cheng’s passing, “and that our grief is shared by the student community”.
A line of flowers and candles spelling out “RIP” were left by University of Sydney staff and students outside their great hall in memory of Cheng, reported the Sydney Moring Herald.
One of those injured on Saturday was a nine-month-old infant whose mother was killed in the attack and who was said to be in a critical but stable condition in hospital on April 15.
Videos circulating online have shown Cauchi avoiding men and targeting women and children.
“It’s obvious to me, obvious to detectives that seems to be an area of interest – that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men,” said New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb.
“It’s obvious to me that the offender had focused on women and avoided the men”
Another Chinese student who has not been named was reportedly among the injured.
“We extend our deep condolences to the victims and our heartfelt sympathies to their families, and wish early recovery to the injured,” a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in Canberra said.
“We will continue to maintain close communication with the Australian side and do our utmost to provide necessary assistance to the families of the Chinese victims.”
It is understood that the families of Cheng and her fiancé were flown to Sydney after hearing the news.
NSW premier Chris Minns announced $18 million for a coroner’s investigation into the attack. By the morning of April 15, more than 50 witnesses had come forward.
From July 2022 – March 2023, more than 71,600 Chinese students were granted an Australian visa, 42% of whom studied in New South Wales, according to ApplyBoard.
Regional government body Study NSW sent its condolences to the education community, “the families and friends of all who lost their lives, those who were injured, and the courageous first responders”.
It has sent up an online Bondi Junction condolence book for people to share messages and is providing support services for those affected.
