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Ash Good, 38, was among the six shoppers at Sydney's Bondi Junction Westfield who were killed today, when a man, 40, dressed in a rugby league jersey, went on a stabbing rampage about 3.20pm before a female police officer shot him dead.
A total of nine people, including Ms Good's nine-month-old baby Harriet, suffered knife wounds. The infant is fighting for her life after being rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.
Just hours before the horror unfolded, Ms Good posted a photo to Instagram with her daughter in her arms.
'Only because I was walking past and happened to be wearing the same thing 9 months out vs 9 months in etc etc,' the caption read.
The knifeman, who killed five women and one man during a rampage in Sydney today, was 'known to police'.
Six people were killed and three more stabbed during the horrific attack in that left multiple people critically injured.
But one man was hailed a hero for rushing to aid Ms Good and her baby as he told how he desperately worked to keep the infant alive using store clothes.
A witness interrupted a Nine News reporter at the scene in Bondi Junction and pointed to his brother, saying: 'He's a hero - he saved the baby'.
The clearly shaken man said he used clothes from a store to try and stem the baby's bleeding.
'The baby got stabbed and, yeah, the mum got stabbed,' he said.
'The mum came over with the baby and threw it at me. I just helped by holding the baby... and trying to compress the baby('s wounds).'
The brothers stayed with the mother and called emergency services.
Four women and one man died at the scene and another woman died in hospital.
New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb told a press conference: 'Later this evening we became aware of who we believe the offender is and we believe that he is a 40-year-old man.
'However, we are waiting to formally identify him and we cannot speculate yet on his identification.
'But let me assure you that we are confident that there is no ongoing risk and we are dealing with one person who is now deceased.'
She added: 'If in fact it is the person that we believe it is, then we don't have fears for that person holding an ideation - in other words, that it's not a terrorism incident.
'He is known to law enforcement but we are waiting to identify him formally.'
Anthony Cooke, assistant commissioner of New South Wales Police, said: 'A man walked into Westfield at Bondi Junction, he left the centre very shortly after and returned... as he moved through the centre he engaged with about nine people.
'It is clear that during that engagement he caused harm to those people, we believe by stabbing them with a weapon he was carrying.
'Very clearly a range of reports were made on the incident, police attended promptly - a single unit officer, inspector of police, was nearby, attended, [and] went into the centre directed by a range of people.
'She confronted the offender who had moved, by this stage, to level five.
'As she continued to walk quickly behind to catch up with him he turned to face her, raised a knife, she discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased.'
He added: 'I'm advised that there are five victims who are now deceased as a result of the actions of this offender.
'There are more than several other people who have been conveyed to hospital - a number of those are in serious and or critical conditions at this stage and I do not have further information in relation to descriptions of those people.
'I know one of them is a small child.'
It was later confirmed that six people died in the attack.
Mr Cooke said: 'I am content that there is no continuing threat; our police, as I said, have commenced investigations into the matter which will continue through the evening.
'I do not have details of victims who have been killed by this individual, nor those who have been conveyed to hospital for treatment - so I cannot provide you further information into relation to them, only to say very clearly our hearts go out to all of them, as they do (to) anyone touched by this incident this afternoon.
'I do not have information in relation to the offender - I do not know, at this stage, who he is, you would understand this is quite raw.
'Inquiries are very new and we continue to make attempts to identify the offender in this matter.
'That is it for the moment, in terms of information that I have for you.'
Security camera footage broadcast by local media showed a man running around the shopping centre with a large knife and injured people lying on the floor.
Witnesses said the dark-haired man, wearing a Kangaroos NRL jersey, slashed at least eight shoppers before he was shot by a female police officer. No-one else is being sought by police.
Pictures and videos from the incident have been uploaded on X including one photo showing the alleged attacker casually riding an escalator while holding a large knife.