Sydney -- Australian police and witnesses said a knife-wielding man yelling "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," attempted to stab several people in downtown Sydney on Tuesday before being arrested. At least one woman was brought to a hospital.
Police said later that "all the evidence points to" a man with mental health issues lashing out, but they would not rule out any potential motives as the investigation was still at an early stage. Given the information they had, however, they said the incident was not being classed as terrorism and that the suspect was believed to have acted alone.
Witnesses say the man, wielding a long knife, tried to stab multiple people near a busy intersection. New South Wales state police said in a statement that the man was caught and the woman was in stable condition.
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Not far away, the body of a woman believed to have been an acquaintance of the detained suspect was found in a home.
A witness told reporters the man was screaming comments about religion before yelling to police that he wanted to be shot. Police said he used the Arabic phrase "Allahu akbar." However, police later said the man also had in his possession a thumbnail USB drive containing information related to white supremacy.
Asked by a reporter whether the conflicting religious references suggested to him a mental health problem at the root of the crime, New South Wales Police Commissioner Michael Fuller said, "certainly all the evidence points to that" at this stage of the investigation.
The incident brought the central business district of Australia's biggest city to an early afternoon standstill, the Reuters news service reports.
The violent attack that took place in Sydney this afternoon is deeply concerning. The attacker is now in police custody following the brave actions of those who were present at the scene and were able to able to restrain him.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised members of the public who helped subdue the suspect during the attack.
Reuters quotes Police Superintendent Gavin Wood as telling reporters in Sydney the woman was stabbed in the back but her wounds weren't life-threatening and that the attack on her seemed to be unprovoked.
The alleged offender is confirmed to be a man named Mert Ney, from Marayong near Blacktown.
Driver recounts moment when alleged offender jumped on his car
The driver whose car was jumped on by the alleged offender has told Nine News he was picking up passengers on King Street when he saw people running away from a man with a knife in his hand and blood on his shirt.
"As I'm thinking about doing something, the guy jumps on the front of the car, on the bonnet," the driver said.
"He gets up to the very top. I froze for probably a split second... then I quickly accelerated so he could get off the car."
The driver rounded the corner and then saw the man being chased down by police, firefighters and members of the public.
"He was completely fearless... It was a scary moment I'm sure for a lot of people in Sydney," he said.
Transport officials say about 24 bus routes in and out of the CBD have also been disrupted.
Buses have been diverted away from Carrington Street as a result of road closures, and services into the CBD are terminating on York Street before Margaret Street instead. Buses on routes out of the central city are beginning their trips from York Street near Wynyard Park.
A number of streets in the CBD have been closed due to the police operation.
‘‘Traffic is extremely heavy at the moment,’’ a Transport Management Centre spokesman said. Clarence Street has been closed between Market and York streets, and King Street remains closed between Clarence and York streets.
Police and other emergency services remain at the scene.
An entrance to Wynyard Station on Clarence Street has been closed, and commuters are advised to use other entrances to the busy CBD station such as York Street or Barangaroo. Trains are still operating as normal, however.
Summary of the major events from this afternoon
Alleged offender not on terror list
The Herald understands the alleged offender was not on the terror watch list. It is not otherwise clear whether he was known to police.
Here is the footage from Superintendent Gavin Wood's press conference earlier this afternoon, where he said police were still in early stages of investigations.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison comments on attack
The Prime Minister has praised the "brave actions" of bystanders and expressed condolences to those affected.
"The violent attack that took place in Sydney this afternoon is deeply concerning. The attacker is now in police custody following the brave actions of those who were present at the scene and were able to able to restrain him," Mr Morrison wrote on Twitter.
"The motivation for this attack has not yet been determined as Police are continuing with their enquires. Any further official information will be provided by the New South Wales Police, who are keeping us appraised through our agencies, including details of casualties.
"Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by this violent attack."
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Death of woman linked to stabbing
The Herald can confirm the death of the woman in the Clarence Street unit is linked to the stabbing on the street below.
Police found the woman's body inside 118 Clarence Street about 3.15pm.
Another woman was stabbed in the back about 2pm. David Faktor from St Vincent's Hospital has confirmed she is in a stable condition.
The alleged offender has been transported from Day Street Police Station to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It is understood that he was taken there by police, not ambulance.
Woman's body found in unit on Clarence Street
Police have confirmed the body of a woman has been found at 118 Clarence Street.
"Inquiries are underway after the body of a woman was found inside a unit on Clarence Street about 3.15pm," a police spokesperson said.
"Officers from Sydney City Police Area Command are on scene and will conduct inquiries into whether the incident is linked to an earlier stabbing at a hotel on the corner of Clarence and King."
The stabbing of the other woman, who is now in hospital, occurred at Hotel CBD about 2pm.
'You don't think': We speak to the heroes who tackled alleged Sydney stabber
The Herald's Lucy Cormack has spoken to the men now being praised as "brave heroes" for restraining the alleged attacker.
"We had a window open to get some air in and then we just heard the commotion … we looked out and saw him on top of a car wielding a knife and we all just kind of reacted from there," Lee Cuthbert, 29, told her.
"We just tried to get down as quick as we could ... You don't think … you just kind of react really, it was surreal, very, very surreal."
Mr Cuthbert and his friends Paul and Luke O'Shaughnessy, all from Manchester in the UK, and Alex Roberts, from Cronulla, were shaken after the incident but said they did not hesitate once they saw the incident unfolding.
"We all kind of chased, worked together, but it was Luke who was the real hero. He pursued him the hardest and managed to get a grip of him with another man," Mr Cuthbert said.
"Luke is down at the police station giving a statement."
Mr Cuthbert would not comment on claims that the man was yelling Allahu Akbar as he wielded the knife.
Clarence Street entrance to Wynyard Station closed
The Transport Management Centre has reminded people to avoid the CBD.
Clarence Street remains closed between Market Street and King Street, and King Street remains closed between Clarence Street and York Street.
"As well, the Clarence Street entrance to Wynyard Station is closed so use the York Street, Carrington Street or Wynyard Walk entrances instead," they said.
"Many buses in the Sydney CBD are also diverting away from their usual routes, and are using different roads or bus stops.
"Traffic is very heavy and motorists already in the city are advised to use an alternative route and follow the directions of police."
UPDATE (August 12, 2019): Versace apologized on August 11 over a furore that emerged on China’s Sina Weibo social media network — just a day later, Coach and Givenchy are following suit. The new controversy is almost identical to the previous one, in which a faux tour shirt ignited a firestorm due to what users cited as misattributed territorial ownership under the “One-China” policy.
Weibo users called out a particular Versace tee as the cause of consternation, which sported a graphic on the rear that designated Macau and Hong Kong as independent countries, neglecting to acknowledge the cities as part of China. Images of Coach and Givenchy T-shirts with similar notations began to circulate on Weibo shortly after the Versace photo made the rounds. Each brand’s T-shirt referred to Hong Kong as an independent country, and Coach’s tee made the same implication for Taiwan.
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CNN reports that a hashtag related to the Coach T-shirt had been read over a billion times on Weibo, with users calling for a boycott of both companies. Furthermore, Givenchy ambassador Jackson Yee, member of popular Chinese boy band TFBoys joined supermodel and Coach ambassador Liu Wen in severing ties with the respective fashion brands they worked with.
“At any time, China’s sovereignty and territory integrity are inviolable!” wrote Wen on her Weibo page. “My carelessness in choosing which brand to work with has brought harm to everyone; I apologize to everyone here! I love my motherland and resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty.” A letter from her lawyer accompanied her post, affirming that the tees had “severely hurt the feelings of Chinese people.”
Both Coach and Givenchy have posted apologies on their own social media pages, attempting to placate the backlash. Givenchy’s post insinuated an immediate recall of the offending tee, adding that “this mistake … does not reflect the deep respect [Givenchy] has for its Chinese audiences throughout the world.” Meanwhile, Coach acknowledged that its shirt was from an older collection and was no longer being produced, adding that “Coach respects and supports China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. … We are fully aware of the severity of this error and deeply regret it.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Versace becomes the latest fashion house to find itself in the midst of a clothing controversy.
As seen in the tweet below, Versace came under fire after one of its T-shirts appeared online, a tee that implied Hong Kong and Macau were their own countries and not the “Special Administrative Regions” that they are — both are territories of China, but both maintain governing and economic systems that are separate from those of mainland China. After newly-signed Chinese brand ambassador singer/actress Yang Mi informed the house that she would end her contract with the company, Donatella Versace came out with a formal apology to China and its citizens. She wrote on Instagram:
“I am deeply sorry for the unfortunate recent error that was made by our company and that is being currently discussed on various social media channels. Never have I wanted to disrespect China’s National Sovereignty and this is why I wanted to personally apologize for such inaccuracy and for any distress that it might have caused.”
This couldn’t have come at a worst time, as just hours after the T-shirt found its way to Weibo, Hong Kong police began tossing tear gas into crowds of pro-democracy protesters during the 10th straight weekend of demonstrations.
Italian luxury brand @Versace apologizes on Sunday for mislabeling China’s #HongKong Special Administrative Region and #Macau Special Administrative Region as countries on one of its T-shirt designs pic.twitter.com/V8Uyk2GXEu
Hong Kong’s airport canceled all flights Monday after thousands of pro-democracy protesters stormed into the main terminal of one of the world’s busiest travel hubs to denounce police violence.
“Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted … all flights have been canceled,” the city’s airport authority said in a statement. “All passengers are advised to leave the terminal buildings as soon as possible.”
Hong Kong has been roiled by mass protests calling for democratic reforms and an independent investigation into police conduct, with both the demonstrators and police turning to more extreme tactics.
In Beijing, the Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office issued a statement saying the situation in the former British colony was “beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism” and constituted an “existential threat” to the population of Hong Kong.
“One must take resolute action toward this violent criminality, showing no leniency or mercy,” spokesman Yang Guang said in the statement.
“Hong Kong has reached an inflection point where all those who are concerned about Hong Kong’s future must say ‘no,’ to lawbreakers and ‘no’ to those engaged in violence,” he added.
Earlier Monday, police showed off water cannons that could be deployed in the case of future demonstrations, a development that Amnesty International has warned could lead to serious injuries.
“Water cannons are not a toy for the Hong Kong police to deploy as a sign of strength,” Man-kei Tam, the group’s Hong Kong director, said in a statement.
“These are powerful weapons that are inherently indiscriminate and have the potential of causing serious injury and even death.”
The slogan “an eye for an eye” was plastered all over the airport – a reference to a female protester whose eye was injured during clashes with riot police who fired tear gas and beanbags on Sunday, according to CNN.
Protesters handed out lists to arriving visitors documenting alleged police violence.
“I just don’t understand how people can tolerate that kind of police brutality. I feel like if I don’t come out now, I can’t come out ever,” said Hilary Lo, an accounting firm worker, according to The Guardian.
Protesters wave flags at the Hong Kong International Airport.AP
“People are starting to realize the police are out of control, especially with what has happened in the past two weeks,” she added.
A police spokesman said there wasn’t enough evidence to determine the cause of the woman’s injury and that authorities won’t investigate unless someone files a report on the incident.
The Chinese-ruled territory faces its most serious crisis in decades, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping grapples with one of his largest popular challenges since he came to power in 2012.
The demonstrations began in opposition to a bill allowing extradition to the mainland but have widened to highlight other grievances.
Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement that has provided some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997.
They are demanding the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, and an independent probe into the handling of the protests.
Use of the terrorism label for the Hong Kong protests, even in a somewhat backhanded way, is a major rhetorical shift in how China has described the protests, and could foreshadow an escalation in Beijing's handling of them.
Earlier today, a top Chinese official said the protests -- now in their eleventh week -- had "begun to show signs of terrorism." In recent years, that term has only been used in a domestic Chinese context to refer to the actions of alleged Islamist groups, particularly in Xinjiang, the predominantly Muslim northwest region of China. Beijing has cracked down heavily in Xinjiang in recent years, establishing a massive system of so-called "re-education camps" in which millions of Muslims have been detained.
In domestic propaganda, there has been a major shift in recent weeks in how the protests are covered. Reports initially barely mentioned them, amid heavy censorship, as is usual for anti-government actions anywhere in China, but increasingly they have emphasized the violent side of the protests -- and sought to paint the protesters as separatists being controlled by the United States and other foreign "black hands."
Suggesting those protesters are also committing acts of terror could open the door for Beijing to crack down on Hong Kong, either by ordering the local police to escalate their use of force, or even by deploying the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the city.
The PLA can be deployed in Hong Kong if the local government requests it, in order to assist with a major breakdown in public order. Local officials have previously refuted any suggestion they would do so.
Earlier Monday, police showed off a riot control vehicle with water cannon, previously never used in Hong Kong. Across the border in Shenzhen, the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary organization, conducted major exercises seen as a potential signal to protesters in Hong Kong.
