Citizen arrest shows ‘people have had enough’

Witnesses describe their 'fear' as knife attack unfolds in Sydney

(Translation appears in Arabic section)

The Prime Minister and the NSW Police Minister have praised bystanders who put themselves at risk by tackling a man armed with a knife in central Sydney and holding him down until police arrived.

Commissioner Mick Fuller said the men who tackled the man suspected of stabbing two women were "the highest order of heroes".

Armed with nothing more than chairs, a milk crate and crowbar, several men chased the man as he ran up Clarence Street and jumped on the bonnet and roof of a car.

Four of those men — Paul O'Shaughnessy, Luke O'Shaughnessy, Lee Cuthbert and Alex Roberts — said they instinctively sprung into action when they saw the commotion below the York Street recruitment office where they work.

NEW South Wales Police has spent the night raiding the home of a man who allegedly killed a woman before going on a stabbing rampage through Sydney’s CBD. One woman was taken to hospital with stab wounds before authorities discovered the body of a second woman in a nearby apartment. The 21-year-old suspect is yet to be charged over the Tuesday afternoon incident and remains under police guard in hospital. Authorities are investigating the contents of a thumb drive found on the suspect as they try to determine whether he was motivated by terrorist ideologies or mental illness.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has commended the ‘brave actions of those who were present at the scene and able to restrain him’. Brave bystanders restrained the suspect with a chair and milk crate until police could arrive at the scene on.

When police arrived at the scene, the suspect was arrested and taken to Day Street Police Station. The 20-year-old has since been transferred to hospital, where he remains under police guard. Police are yet to lay any charges.

Witness Peter McGuire described the scene as "one of fear" and "mayhem, to put it mildly". "There were people running for their lives, screams, a guy with a knife, milk crates, chairs, and in some ways you thought 'is this a movie?'," he told reporters.

Citizen arrest shows ‘people have had enough’

Former New South Wales detective sergeant Peter Moroney says the arrest involving members of the public in Sydney’s CBD shows “people have had enough”. A 20-year-old man allegedly stabbed a woman during a rampage before being apprehended by three men and a nearby firefighter at the corner of King and Clarence Streets. Mr Moroney said people will “not stand for” such behaviour anymore, with a willingness to intervene that may not have been seen a few years ago. He said the police have avoided dubbing the incident as a terror attack as they are still examining all the facts. “They would be poring over everything in this guy’s life over the past dozen years… There wouldn’t be an inch of his life that would be left unturned," he said.