Chilling footage captures moment woman is stabbed in random rampage that left one dead – as new details emerge about attacker
A man has been charged with murder after allegedly going on a terrifying random stabbing spree in Sydney’s west on Tuesday.
The alleged attack began inside an Asian grocery store on the main street of Merrylands at about 10am, where two people were stabbed, and then on the footpath where a third person was stabbed and killed.
Chilling CCTV from inside the shop shows the alleged attacker, dressed in a white t-shirt and bucket hat, walking down the shop aisle before approaching a woman standing in front of the counter, striking her in the neck with a blade.
The man, which can now be identified as Setefano Leaaetoa, then allegedly strikes at her a second time before leaving the store.
Cumberland Police superintendent Simon Glasser said the 47-year-old woman was fighting for life in Westmead Hospital.
The other victim attacked in the shop – a 21-year-old male – was also taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition.
A 38-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and is yet to be formally identified.
Leaaetoa, 25, was arrested in the backyard of a nearby property and remains in custody.
Setefano Leaaetoa, 25, allegedly approached the woman at the counter with a large blade before stabbing her in the neck
The 47-year-old woman, who police say is not known to the man, is fighting for life in hospital
He will appear before Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday.
Following the stabbings, police confirmed they had recovered a knife ‘similar to a kitchen knife, approximately 20 to 30 centimetres in length’.
Authorities have since confirmed Leaaetoa is known to police for a ‘history of low level crime’ and on mental-health related issues.
On February 5, he faced Parramatta Court on assault offences and was ordered by a magistrate to be detained in a mental health facility to be assessed, 7News reports.
However he fled the facility, where he was receiving intensive in-patient mental health treatment, 10 days prior to the alleged attack.
Western Sydney Local Health District confirmed a patient undergoing acute mental health treatment for a complex condition was ‘alleged to be involved in the incident’ on Tuesday.
‘This person absconded from care while being transferred from Cumberland Hospital to Westmead Hospital emergency department for further medical assessment,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.
‘NSW Police were notified, and contact was made with the patient’s family, but all attempts by [Western Sydney Local Health District] to contact the person were unsuccessful.’
Police established a crime scene spanning 50 metres along the street, with officers describing the incident as ‘highly confronting’
Detectives seized a knife from a garden in the suburb which has been taken for testing
A formal review into the man’s treatment, including examination from an external senior psychiatrist, will be completed.
‘We also extend our sympathies to the first responders who have been impacted by this incident,’ the Local Health District added.
Guildford resident Joseph Ruissi told the Daily Telegraph he saw a man tending to the female victim’s neck in the aftermath of the attack.
‘Blood was pouring down the side of her neck and across her chest and she was coughing blood from her mouth,’ he said.
He said the shopkeeper was trying to stop the bleeding, adding: ‘She started to slump to the side and you could tell she was dying.
‘Every second felt like a year. It was absolutely terrible. I just pray to God that whoever survived is going to get better.’
More to come.
