The Westfield Bondi Junction was evacuated on Saturday afternoon after 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, who was later shot dead, attacked shoppers with a knife, killing six people.

The Sydney shopping centre that was the scene of a deadly stabbing attack will reopen tomorrow for a community reflection day before resuming normal trading hours from Friday.

The Westfield Bondi Junction was evacuated on Saturday afternoon after 40-year-old Joel Cauchi, who was later shot dead, attacked shoppers with a knife, killing six people.

Five people, including four women and a man, died at the scene and many more were hospitalised, including a nine-month-old baby. The baby’s mother, Ashlee Good, later died in hospital.

Six people remain in hospital, with two women still in intensive care and the baby in a serious but stable condition.

Scentre Group, which operates Westfield malls in Australia and New Zealand, said security and police presence will be increased when the mall reopens.

The mall will open on Thursday for a “community reflection day” to allow people to pay their respects.

Elliott Rusanow, chief executive officer of the Scentre Group, said there would be no retail trade on Thursday and that members of the community would be able to visit the centre to pay respects.

“Having a reflection day allows members of the community to come back, in a way that is not about retail trade,” he said. “It’s about paying respects, it’s about coming back and feeling comfortable with coming back to Westfield Bondi.”

Counselling services will also be available on site during the day.

“It is a day of remembrance and to pay our respects to what has happened here, and the victims of the tragedy that happened here,” Rusanow said. “It is a recognition that things don’t return back to normal immediately.”

The Westfield Group will be tightening security across all of its malls, he added, such as by having security guards wear enhanced protective clothing.

The company has not ruled out providing financial compensation to businesses impacted by the shopping centre’s closure.

Rusanow said some retailers will choose not to reopen on Friday. “It will be their choice when they do so.”

A candlelight vigil for the community will also be held on Sunday evening at Bondi Beach.

There will be a one-minute silence in honour of the people who died.

Rusanow said all the families of the victims had already been allowed to visit the centre where their loved ones were killed and that some families had done so.

The victims of Saturday’s attack were Pikria Darchia, 55; Ashlee Good, 38; Faraz Tahir, 30; Dawn Singleton, 25; Jade Young, 47; and Yixuan Cheng, who is believed to be in her 20s.

The attack has horrified Australia, where mass killings are rare.

Following the attack, the New South Wales government has announced a review into the weapons security guards in crowded places such as shopping centres and hospitals will be allowed to use.