Police officer among 4 injured in southern Sydney stabbing spree

SYDNEY, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — A police officer was among four people who were injured in a stabbing spree that followed a car crash in southern Sydney in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Sunday.
NSW Police said that officers responded to reports of a two-car crash in the suburb of Engadine – approximately 30 kilometers south of Sydney’s central business district (CBD) – on Sunday morning and found a man with suspected stab wounds allegedly running from the scene.
The man was arrested with the deployment of a Taser, NSW Police said in a statement.
A male police officer suffered a serious laceration to his wrist during the arrest and a woman, understood to be a passenger in the crashed vehicle, also suffered multiple stab wounds.
A fourth person was also found injured, although police said it was unclear what their involvement was in the incident.
Addressing reporters after the incident, NSW Police and Counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley said an investigation is underway.
“There is no threat to the community, I just want the community to know that there is no threat whatsoever,” she said.
Eyewitness Steven Mace, Chairman of southern Sydney-based professional rugby league club the Cronulla Sharks, told News Corp Australia newspapers that he saw the initial crash and heard screams from one of the cars immediately afterwards.
“I heard the guy screaming in the car, and then I heard his partner screaming even louder,” he said.
“I saw him slashing her. Cutting her neck, her breast, across the stomach. Wherever he could go. I tried to get her out to stop the stabbing.”
He said that he and another bystander were able to help the woman out of the car and protect her.
All four people who suffered injuries were treated by paramedics and the Princes Highway – a major road connecting Sydney to Adelaide via Melbourne – was closed in both directions. ■