An armed man has been arrested after a woman was fatally stabbed in central Sydney. A second woman was found dead inside an apartment building on the same street.
Police commissioner Mick Fuller said at a press conference:”All the information we have at hand would link these two crimes.”
Police have said the suspect had some beliefs related to terrorism but there are no apparent links to other terrorist organisations. It is also believed the man had a USB drive which contained details of mass killings in New Zealand and the United States however it is not being classed as a terrorist incident.
Lee Cuthbert, Paul O’Shaughnessy and his brother Luke, all from Manchester, were working in their company office when they heard shouting in the street and chased the suspect. They managed to pin him down until police arrived. Police have praised the three men as “heroes” and said they acted “well and truly beyond the call of any citizen”.
The incident happened at 14:00 local time in the busy city centre. Video footage shows the suspects jumping on a car and waving a knife whilst shouting Allahu Akbar” and “shoot me”.
Speaking to reporters near the scene, New South Wales (NSW) Police superintendent Gavin Wood 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.”
