A man has been killed and two other people severely injured in a “random” stabbing attack on a busy high street in suburban Sydney, police said.
Officers arrived at the scene in Merrylands, around 25km west of Sydney’s central business district, at 10am to attend to reports that a man stabbed multiple people before fleeing the area on foot.
A man was later arrested from a nearby street and taken to the Granville Police Station, police said.
Two of the victims were stabbed inside a high street shop, while the third was attacked on the street outside.
One victim, a man aged in his thirties or forties, was declared dead at the scene. Paramedics attended to two others – a 22-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman – with serious injuries before they were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
A knife about 25cm long was used in the stabbings, superintendent Simon Glasser said.
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“It’s very early in the investigation. Police are unaware at this point what the motive was. However, it appears it was a random attack,” Mr Glasser told a news conference.
“The alleged offender is known to police for petty crime and a number of mental health incidents,” he said. “He is not linked to the address he was located at. However, he is a local to the area.”
Mr Glasser said the victims were by themselves on Merrylands Road when the incident occurred and the three were not related to each other.
He said there were a lot of people in the area at the time of the attack.
The Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) said the same man escaped from care 10 days before the incident, according to ABC news.
"The district is aware a person alleged to be involved in the incident is a recent patient of Cumberland Hospital, which provides acute inpatient care for people with complex mental health needs," a spokesperson said in a statement, quoted by the news outlet.
"On 7 February… this person absconded from care while being transferred from Cumberland Hospital to Westmead Hospital emergency department for further medical assessment,” it said.
"NSW (New South Wales) Police were notified and contact was made with the patient's family, but all attempts by WSLHD to contact the person were unsuccessful.
"A formal review into the person's care and treatment will be undertaken, which will include an external senior psychiatrist."
The 25-year-old man, identified as a suspect, is now in police custody, but is yet to be charged.
“It’s a horrible offence to have taken place in Merrylands just prior to lunchtime with lots of people around,” Mr Glasser said of the “highly confronting” scene.
“It’s very reassuring to see members of the community come and help other members of the community that needed immediate assistance.”
Witnesses said they heard screams and later a large number of police, as well as helicopters, ambulances and police cars, arriving at the scene.
“We walked outside to see what’s happening. We seen a bunch of people, like a massive crowd, and then there was just a lady in front of the shop … and there’s just a bit of blood on the floor,” an eyewitness told ABC news.
Another eyewitness reportedly said he saw a woman with a neck injury as she was coming out of a convenience store.
Joseph Roussini, 59, said he called the emergency services after he saw a woman “screaming for her life”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. He said he saw a “man and a lady coming out of the shop, and the man was holding the lady by the neck to try and stop the bleeding”.
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