ICU nurse who helped Bondi stabbing victims to be honoured for bravery
alexandra smith
Drinking coffee in the cafe on the fourth floor of Westfield shopping center in Bondi Junction, Catherine Molihan was unaware of the horror happening around her until screams rang out.
Like many shoppers on April 13, 2024, Molihan, a highly experienced nurse, fled for her life and initially sought refuge in a store. The store manager locked the doors to keep himself and others safe, but it quickly became apparent that there was mass casualty outside the shuttered luggage store.
Despite his objections, Molihan insisted that the manager take him out. He saw two men seriously injured. One is sitting on a chair, the other is lying on the floor. Both had stomach wounds.
“I told the manager, ‘I’m a nurse, I’m trained in intensive care and I want to help,'” Molihan said.
The men were stabbed by mentally ill Joel Cauchi, who attacked the eastern suburbs shopping mall with a knife. Among the missing people Molihan found were security guard Muhammad Taha and his colleague Faraz Tahir. He immediately noticed that Tahir was seriously injured.
“Faraz’s condition was very critical. The police officers who came were wonderful and I just held his head, stroked his beard and told him he would be okay,” Molihan said, suppressing his tears.
Tahir, a Pakistani citizen who fled religious persecution in his own country, died at the scene.
Monday marks the second anniversary of the Bondi Junction attack. To mark the occasion, Molihan will receive a commendation for his brave actions as part of the special Australian Decorations of Bravery honors list alongside Noel McLaughlin, whose wife Jade Young died in the attack.
Six others, including NSW Police Superintendent Amy Scott, will be awarded the high honor medal of bravery for their role in the stabbing massacre that left six people dead.
Also killed were Ashlee Good, Pikria Darchia, Yixuan Cheng and Dawn Singleton.
Awards recommended by the independent Australian Decorations of Bravery Council include two posthumous medals awarded to Good and Tahir, who died trying to save the lives of others. Despite his horrific injuries, Good, 38, managed to push his injured young daughter, Harriet, into the arms of two male shoppers before he died.
Scott, who was awarded the Commissioner’s Award of Valor for “extraordinary bravery in a life-threatening situation” at the police graduation ceremony in June 2024, was labeled a hero and credited for saving lives after tracking Cauchi through the mall.
The senior officer was alone when he confronted the attacker just minutes after his rampage began. He raised his pistol and shot Cauchi dead as he charged towards him, preventing further casualties, including his own. Scott now faces her own battle after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
French nationals Damien Guerot and Silas Despreaux will also receive medals for bravery. The men encountered Cauchi while passing through the shopping center using the barriers. Footage of construction workers coming face to face at the top of an escalator during the attacker’s killing spree has become a defining image of the unprovoked attack.
Governor General Sam Mostyn said all eight honorees were “characterized by their selfless, courageous and determined response under indescribable and horrific circumstances.”
“Each of them demonstrated strength and profound courage by placing the safety of others above their own, with the utmost care for others,” Mostyn said.
“Their courageous actions reflect the best in us and remind us of the valor, compassion, and service that endure and are present in our communities.
“We also pay tribute to the 12 people who were injured, to their recovery and well-being, and to all those whose lives were forever changed by the violence they witnessed on that terrible day.”
