Channel 7 has apologised after they named the wrong man as the person responsible for the Bondi Junction Westfield stabbings, which killed six people, including five women and one man.
Per The Australian, on Saturday night, 7News Australia shared a report where it wrongly named the Bondi Junction attacker during one of its news bulletins. It was also reported that the name was used on its news site.
Although the video was pulled down from YouTube, it was quickly shared on Twitter, with people calling for 7NEWS to take accountability for the mistake.
Mark Cohen — the father of the person who was wrongly named the Bondi Junction attacker — called on NSW Police to release the identity of the killer.
In a press conference on Saturday, NSW Police confirmed the identity of the killer, which was revealed to be 40-year-old Joel Cauchi.
After NSW Police had confirmed the identity of Couchi, 7NEWS released a statement apologising for the mistake.
“The mistake was human error,” a 7NEWS spokesperson said, per The Guardian Australia.
“It was escalated immediately and rectified. Seven sincerely apologises for the error.”
Benjamin Cohen — the 20-year-old university student who was wrongly labelled as the Bondi Junction attacker — told news.com.au about how harmful the claims were towards him.
“It’s just gone crazy, it’s like look you’ve got the wrong guy,” he told the publication.
“People don’t really think too hard about what they’re posting and how it might affect someone. It’s very dangerous how people could just make stuff up and destroy people’s lives.”
Mark — Benjamin’s father — also told the publication that they’ve been inundated with calls from friends and family asking if the news was true.
“He’s just a normal kid who now has got to deal with this,” he told news.com.au.
On Saturday, Joel Cauchi walked into Bondi Junction Westfield in Sydney and killed multiple people. In a press conference on Sunday, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed that six people were murdered and that multiple people are in hospital over injuries they sustained during the tragic event.
Cauchi was shot dead by NSW Police officer Amy Scott after he lunged at her with his weapon.
NSW Police say they’re investigating the motives behind Cauchi’s stabbing. They’ve also said that they’re not treating the stabbing as a terrorist attack, but potentially a mental health episode.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Mark, Benjamin and 7NEWS for comment.
Image source: Getty Images / Brendon Thorne and The Sydney Morning Herald, Supplied.
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