Woman's body found in unit after knife-wielding man goes on rampage in Sydney CBD

The body of a woman has been found in a unit on Clarence Street near where a knife-wielding man went on a rampage in the Sydney CBD on Tuesday afternoon.

Police are looking into the death and are investigating whether it is linked to the incident.

“Inquiries are underway after a body of a body of a woman was found in a unit on Clarence Street about 3:15 today,” police confirmed to Yahoo News Australia.

“Officers from Sydney city police area command are on the scene and will be conducting inquiries into whether the incident was linked to an earlier stabbing on King and Clarence Street.”

The ABC is reporting the woman appears to have suffered stab wounds.

Slightly after 4pm, reports emerged that the death is linked to the stabbing rampage but police are currently unable to confirm that.

It comes after the public apprehended the man who was carrying a large kitchen knife, which witnesses described as about 30cm long.

Man with large knife taken down by public

Police praised members of the public who tackled and apprehended the knife-wielding man during a rampage in Sydney’s CBD.

The incident took place near King and York Street in the Sydney CBD after 2pm on Tuesday afternoon.

One woman was found stabbed in a pub with wounds to her back and rushed to hospital covered in blood.

Witnesses reported the man attempted to stab a number of people in the street before members of the public apprehended him and held him down until police arrived.

Police confirmed the operation on Twitter shortly after 2pm.

“Police operation King and Clarence Street, Sydney CBD. Please avoid the area,” NSW police wrote.

King Street is closed between Clarence and York Street due to the operation and buses are being diverted from the area. Traffic will be delayed and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

Witnesses apprehended man with crate, chairs

As authorities made their way to the location, there were multiple reports the man had stabbed someone near the corner of King and Clarence Streets, police said.

A short time later, members of the public detained the man before police attended and arrested him.

Videos surfacing online show members of the public tackling the man and holding him down with a number of items including chairs believed to be from a nearby cafe and a milk crate.

Firefighters were also involved with apprehending the man as police arrived.

Video posted on Twitter shows the man yelled: "F***ing shoot me in the f***ing head" before he was wrestled to the ground by bystanders and a milk crate was placed over his head.

Speaking to ABC News TV, a witness named David described seeing a small mob of people chasing after the man.

“I was walking towards Wynyard Park and this man came running around the corner about three or four metres away from me,” he recalled.

“And then came about five or six other men chasing him, they were armed with crowbars and one man had an axe and another man, I think had a firefighting implement.”

Woman found stabbed in pub

One woman was taken to hospital following the incident.

Police and NSW Ambulance paramedics located a woman inside a hotel who had a stab wound, NSW police said. The woman was reportedly stabbed in the back.

She has been taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Photos of the suspect being arrested by police show a dishevelled man with no shoes and blood down the front of his jumper.

Witnesses told AAP the young man had been yelling religious statements. Police were told he was yelling "Allahu Akbar".

The alleged offender has reportedly been transported from Day Street Police Station to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It is understood that he was taken there by police, not ambulance, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Police said the man was distressed and said he appeared to be under the influence of something.

‘Really scary stuff’

Witness Jack Huddo was eating lunch at nearby cafe Vapiano at the time.

“I saw a lot of people running, like everyone. Really scary stuff, thought gunman or something crazy,” he told Yahoo News Australia.

“I ran outside and saw people grabbing poles and bats from a fire truck and started to chase,” he explained.

“I asked someone what happened and he said that a guy was stabbing people in the street.

“I then walked back to Wynyard park as I work close and then saw a lot of people crowded around with a lot of police. They had caught him and he was laying on the ground in cuffs.”

An Uber driver said he saw the man with the knife running away moments before.

“I see this guy jumping over the car, he went over the bonnet, and went on top of the car,” he said.

“He had a little bit of blood on his shirt.”

Police praise public as heroes

A police spokesperson has praised members of the public who helped restrain the man until authorities arrived on the scene.

“I want to acknowledge those members of the public who got involved. They were brave and I can only use that word seriously,” Superintendent Gavin Wood said.

“They were significantly brave people. To approach a person with a mind set of obviously what this person did, with clear evidence of a stabbing previously, these people are heroes.

“These people, these members of the public, going about their day-to-day business have jumped into a situation which was extremely dangerous and hostile and they have brought a person, who we will be alleging has stabbed an innocent person for no specific reason, into custody and allowed us to do our job.”

Man could’ve escaped from mental health facility

Police are investigating whether the knifeman possibly escaped from a mental health facility, 9News reported.

Earlier, News Corp journalist Laura Jayes tweeted: “Sources say police are investigating if the man in question is a patient who’d recently escaped from a mental health facility.”

Multiple crime scenes being investigated

Superintendent Wood said there are multiple crime scenes being investigated and assured the public the threat had been negated.

“All I can conclusively say is that male offender was on his own and there was no other person complicit at this stage,” he said.

“We are in the infancy stage of the stabbing investigation. There are a number of crime scenes that are being thoroughly investigated by criminal investigative and forensic staff as we speak and the investigation is ongoing.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison weighs in

Scott Morrison has praised the brave members of the public, describing the attack as “deeply concerning”.

"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," he 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."

More to come.

With AAP

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