At
least one person has been injured after a stabbing in Syndey, Australia, by a
man armed with a foot-long knife.
The woman was rushed to hospital while witnesses, including
firefighters armed with axes, chased him through the city’s business district
before pinning him to the ground.
People nearby helped pin the man to the floor using a chair from a
nearby cafe and a milk crate.
The attacker, who was covered in blood, allegedly shouted ‘allahu
akbar’ – Arabic for God is great – and ‘shoot me’ during the incident but was
swiftly taken into custody by police.
People were urged to avoid the area around King and Clarence Streets
at the heart of the central business district (CBD) while police were carrying
out investigations.
The alleged attack took place at around 2pm local time, around 5am
BST, near Wynard Station just as people were finishing their lunch breaks.
Marco, who was working at Batch Cafe, said he saw a man in his 20s
and he had a blade that was about a foot long.
He said: ‘He was trying to smash a driver side window of a random car with the knife. He was unsuccessful.
‘People
were chasing him by that stage. There was fireys [firefighters] chasing him
with axes and he went around the corner.’
‘The cops are here
and they blocked the road right now, so we can’t go outside. They said: “It’s a
crime scene, you can’t come out”.’
He said he saw that
traffic had stopped and people were running, telling Nine News Sydney: ‘All of
a sudden this guy appeared with a knife in his hand covered in blood, down the
front shirt, and next thing I thought OK well obviously I can’t go through all
these cars.
‘As I’m thinking
about doing something the guy jumps on the front of the car which was on the
bonnet over here and then he goes up to the very top.’
He added: ‘I froze
for probably a split second but then I thought I’m hoping that he’s not covered
in any explosives or anything, so I quickly accelerated so he can get off the
car.’
He said he drove left
and then took a right turn where he could see the suspect again being chased by
police and public. ‘He was fearless. He was completely fearless,’ he said,
adding that he had ‘a big scary knife’ in his hand.
NSW Police
Superintendent Gavin Wood, speaking to reporters near the scene, said: ‘A
number of members of the public actually physically restrained the offender.
‘And I want to
acknowledge those people, those members of the public who got involved. They
are brave, and I can only use that word seriously.
‘They are
significantly brave people. They approach the person… with clear evidence of a
stabbing previously.
‘These people are
heroes, and I want to acknowledge that.
‘These members of the
public going about their day-to-day business have jumped into a situation which
was extremely dangerous, extremely hostile, and they have brought a person –
who we will be alleging stabbed an innocent person for no specific reason –
into custody and allowed us to do our job.’
Source: metro.co.uk
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