Sydney stabbing accused ‘had info on NZ attacks’
A knife-wielding man with a history of mental illness is suspected of slaying a woman in a downtown Sydney apartment before wounding another woman nearby and attempting to stab other people yesterday while yelling “Allahu akbar”, or “God is great”, police and witnesses said.
Police had not listed the rampage as an act of terrorism, although the 21-year-old assailant — who was restrained by members of the public before being arrested — had collected information on his computer about mass killings in New Zealand and North America, New South Wales state Police Commissioners Michael Fuller said.
A gunman who recently left 22 people dead at a Texas Walmart appears to have praised the March 15 shootings in Christchurch, where an Australian white supremacist is charged with killing 51 worshippers at two mosques.
“It is not currently classed as a terrorist incident. Obviously as the investigation continues we will reassess that,” Fuller told reporters.
“He is by definition, at the moment, a lone actor. Information was found on him that would suggest he has some ideologies in relation to terrorism, but he has no links to terrorism,” Fuller said. “There was certainly information found on him about other crimes of mass casualties and mass deaths around the world.”
Police identified the accused as Mert Ney, 21. It is understood he had a history of mental health problems that police were aware of, and that he had recently absconded from a mental health facility.
Witnesses said the assailant was carrying a 30cm knife as he attempted to stab multiple people near a busy intersection in central Sydney at around 2pm local time (4pm NZT). Fuller described the weapon as a butcher’s knife.
Police said that a man was arrested, and that a 41-year-old woman with a stab wound to her back was taken to a hospital in a stable condition.
Police said the body of a 21-yearold woman was later discovered in a nearby fourth-floor apartment.
“A number of members of the public physically restrained the offender,” Police Superintendent Gavin Wood said. “I want to acknowledge those members of the public who got involved. They were significantly brave people.”
Video showed that people had pinned the man to the pavement on his back with a plastic milk crate over his head and two chairs over his body.
Wood said it appeared that the attack was unprovoked. The man “attempted to stab multiple people. Those attempts, thankfully, were unsuccessful”, Wood said.