SYDNEY, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A man who was arrested after a fatal stabbing spree in western Sydney on Tuesday morning had escaped from mental health care earlier in February, authorities have confirmed.
One person died and two others were hospitalized with serious injuries after they were stabbed at a popular shopping strip in Merrylands, 20 km west of central Sydney, around 10 a.m. on Tuesday in what police have described as a random attack.
A 25-year-old man was arrested nearby following a major search, and authorities on Tuesday night confirmed that he was known to police and had escaped from care on Feb. 7.
The Western Sydney Local Health District said that the suspect was a recent patient at Cumberland Hospital, which provides acute inpatient care for people with complex mental health needs, and had absconded while being transferred to a separate hospital for assessment.
Police were notified at the time, but all attempts to contact the man were unsuccessful.
Superintendent Simon Glasser from the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force told reporters earlier on Tuesday that detectives believe two of the stabbings occurred inside a premises and the third occurred on a public footpath.
He said that there was no known relationship between the three victims and that police are treating the incident as a random attack.
No charges had been laid over the incident as of Tuesday night. ■
