THE SYDNEY CBD RAMPAGE - WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
- About 1:30pm on Tuesday, Mert Ney, 20, was seen on CCTV footage in an alleyway before entering an apartment on Clarence Street in Sydney's CBD.
- Police say Ney had a history of "low-level issues" including, malicious damage and domestic violence linked to his Marayong-based family.
- Ney had a history of mental health issues. He recently checked himself in to a mental health facility, police say, as a result of a health issue. He was also listed as a missing person.
- Police believe Ney visited the CBD apartment "for the purposes of prostitution" and had phone contact with a 24-year-old Australian woman - later found dead in the apartment with a slit throat - before his arrival.
- After leaving the apartment about 1.50pm, Ney allegedly stabbed a 41-year-old woman in the shoulder at Hotel CBD, near the corner of King and Clarence Street.
- He then walked along York Street, armed with a kitchen knife, before being detained with chairs and a milk crate by members of the public.
- He was arrested by police and taken to a nearby police station. He was later transferred to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a cut to his knee and remains under police guard.
- Police expect Ney will be taken into police custody on Wednesday afternoon and plan to charge him over the death of the 24-year-old woman and the stabbing of the 41-year-old woman. He is yet to be interviewed.
- Investigators are searching both Ney's family home in Marayong and a second address in Blacktown, where he was thought to be staying. They are also trawling through his social media accounts, phone, and electronic devices.
- The incident has not been classified as a terrorist act but police are investigating whether terrorism was his motive. Ney shouted "Allahu akbar" while brandishing the knife on York Street. He also possessed a USB stick with information on recent massacres in the US and New Zealand.
- The 41-year-old woman is in a stable condition in hospital.
Australian Associated Press
