The body of a woman has been found inside an apartment in Sydney’s CBD with detectives working to establish if her death is linked to a nearby stabbing rampage.
Police say the woman was found in the Clarence Street unit about 3.15 p.m. on Aug. 13.
“Officers ... are on the scene and will be conducting inquiries as to whether this incident is linked to an earlier stabbing at a hotel,” a police spokeswoman told AAP.
A young man has been arrested after he stabbed a woman at the nearby Hotel CBD and attempted to stab a number of others shortly after 2 p.m., authorities say.
She’s been taken to hospital in a stable condition with a stab wound to her back.
The man was detained by members of the public before being arrested by police.
Witnesses have told AAP a man armed with a 30-centimetre kitchen knife had been yelling religious statements.
Police say it’s been reported he was yelling “Allahu Akbar.”
Witness Zak Barry said he saw the man fall down on York Street “and as he’s falling he dropped a kitchen knife.”
Paul O'Shaughnessy, 37, said his brother Luke, 30, saw a man with a balaclava wielding a knife.
The pair chased the man and then managed to get a grip on him with the help of a third person.
“He’s got blood all over him ... shouting religious statements,” O'Shaughnessy told reporters.
Video posted on Twitter shows the man yelled at police: “[expletive] shoot me in the [expletive] head” before he was wrestled to the ground by bystanders and a milk crate was placed over his head.
“A number of members of the public physically restrained the offender,” Superintendent Gavin Wood said.
“I want to acknowledge those members of the public who got involved. They were significantly brave people.”
Wood said it appeared Tuesday’s attack was unprovoked and the man had acted alone.
A caller to 2GB radio confirmed the young man had been tackled to the ground.
“He’s definitely been detained ... he’s been taken away,” the caller, Tom, said.
“So insane! A random dude just started stabbing people in the city right outside where we were having lunch,” @JackHuddo said on Twitter.
An Uber driver said he saw people running away “and next thing I see this guy jumping over the car, he went over the bonnet, and went on top of the car.”
“He had a little bit of blood on his shirt,” the driver told 2GB.
NSW Police have set up a series of roadblocks in the area.
“A number of crime scenes have been established,” a spokesperson said.
Wood said there was no ongoing threat after the man’s arrest.
