Man in custody after stabbing in Sydney CBD leaves woman dead

The coverage of this murder is getting interesting. Early reports mention the large blood-stained knife, the slit throat of the dead woman (a jihad MO) and the cry of Allah Akbar. One of the oldest reports is from the Daily Mail Australia.  Later reports play down the specific assault on her throat, some omit the Allah Akbar, from the Sydney Morning Herald  The most recent either say he had ‘no terrorist connections’ or play up that the ‘terrorist material’ found on him was to do with Christchurch and Texas and his possible mental health history.  According to CBS Australia the NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says it was not terrorism but terrifying carnage. No one seems to have noticed that the man bears a Turkish name. 

A blood-soaked man screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ has gone on a rampage with a butcher’s knife through central Sydney – allegedly killing a 21-year-old woman inside a unit and stabbing another in the back at a nearby pub. 

The dead woman was found inside a Clarence Street apartment, allegedly with her throat slit, after the knifeman was subdued by heroic bystanders about 2pm using chairs and a milk crate in Wynyard Street after he attempted to stab multiple people.

Police are investigating whether the alleged attacker, Mert Ney, 21, from Blacktown in the city’s west, had escaped from a mental institution.

They do not believe the incident is terror-related, and said the alleged attacker did not have links to any terrorist organisations – despite witnesses reporting the attacker was muttering religious slogans including ‘Allahu Akbar’. 

Brave bystanders have been hailed as heroes of the “highest order” for ending “terrifying carnage” in the Sydney CBD on Tuesday, which left one woman dead, a second injured and parts of the city in lockdown.

Mert Ney, 21, from Marayong, near Blacktown in Sydney’s west, was seen “covered in blood and wielding a knife” near the corner of Clarence and King streets about 2pm. Bystanders gave chase and tackled him to the ground, restraining him with chairs and a milk crate before police arrived to take him into custody.

The body of a woman, 21, was found in a nearby Clarence Street apartment about 3.15pm. A 41-year-old woman found in Hotel CBD with a stab wound to her back was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the offender unleashed “terrifying carnage” in what appeared to be a random attack. He called those who tackled the suspect to the ground “highest order heroes” as the man “was clearly dangerous and had motive”.

“…all the information that we have at the moment would link these two crimes.” It is believed that the alleged attacker and deceased woman were known to each other through “business purposes”, he said. 

Commissioner Fuller said the attacks – described as “terrifying carnage” – were subject to an ongoing investigation but were “certainly not a terrorist incident”. 

Mr Fuller said the man was in possession of ideological material related to terrorism, but stressed it was not being treated as a terrorist incident at this stage. “He is by definition at the moment a lone actor,” Mr Fuller said.

Footage shows the alleged attacker yelling “Allahu Akbar”, however Mr Fuller said the suspect had a history of mental health issues the police were aware of. “I can say that he was known to police but his history was unremarkable compared to the gravity of the crimes committed.”

Maybe it was an “honour” killing then?