People chased down a stabbing suspect in Sydney and trapped him under chairs and plastic crates until police arrived

Twitter/Andrew Denny

Members of the public chased down and trapped a stabbing suspect under wicker chairs and plastic crates so the police could arrest him.
The man is suspected of stabbing at least one woman and trying to stab more people on the street in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday.
Video shows the man bloodied and carrying a knife as he shouts and climbs on to a car before an onlooker starts to chase him with a chair.
It then shows the man trapped and shouting as one witness yells "Do you know how many people you just stabbed, you dog?" Police said the public acted as "heroes."
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A man suspected of trying to stab multiple people in Sydney, Australia was chased down by witnesses who pinned him under wicker chairs and plastic crates until he was arrested.

Video footage shared by Australia’s 7 News shows the man as he ran through the streets waving a knife and jumped on the roof of a car.

He appears to be the man whom police said stabbed a woman and attempted to stab several more people on a rampage through the city center.

In the video he is heard shouting "Shoot me, f—— shoot me in the f—— head, shoot me, I want to f—— die" before he is chased by an onlooker carrying a chair.

The footage does not show the stabbing, or violence beyond the man being restrained. It does include lots of obscene language.

The video, taken by 7 News reporter Andrew Denney, then cuts to show the man pinned to the ground under wicker chairs. Members of the public hold a plastic crate over his face.

One witness addresses him, shouting: "Do you know how many people you just stabbed, you dog?"

The witness suggests killing the suspect, while others tell the witness to stop and to wait for the police.

Twitter/Andrew Denny/Business Insider

"You just stabbed a chick, mate," someone then says. Onlookers also tell the man: "You’re dead."

The video shows the suspect trapped for several minutes as they wait for the police. He was then arrested.

Denney said he had witnessed "incredible bravery" from members of the public and the police.

Gavin Wood, a superintendent with the New South Wales police, praised members of the public who restrained the suspect, who has not been named.

Speaking to journalists after the arrest. he said: "They were significantly brave people."

"To approach a person with a mindset of obviously what this person did, with clear evidence of a stabbing previously, these people are heroes. And I want to acknowledge that."

Police say that one woman was stabbed in the attack, and that there was then a "number of attempted stabbings by the same offender."

Police are also investigating whether the death of another woman who was found in a nearby apartment is connected.

Wood, the police officer, said that the "male offender responsible for the stabbing is in custody" and that police believe that he acted alone.

7 News Australia

Two men who chased the suspect told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that they had looked out of a window and saw the man, prompting one to say: "Mate, there’s a guy wielding a knife."

The two brothers, Paul and Luke O’Shaughnessy from the UK, said they felt immediately that they needed to help.

"Our immediate reaction was, right, let’s go and help, if he’s wielding a knife. So we went down the escalator, ran out, and you could see all the public on this side of the road and we were like, ‘Where is he?’" Paul said.

He said that they "could see a little bit of blood so we knew he’s done something with that knife, so we just ran after him basically and people were shouting, ‘He’s down that way.’"

They said that when they reached the suspect other witnesses had done the same thing and "everyone just jumped on the guy."

He said that the man "was shouting radical things" but that he did not want to repeat them. He said: "I don’t think that is religion in any way from what I know of all the different religions."

YouTube/Guardian News

7 News reported that the suspect yelled "Allahu Akbar" as he ran down the street, before he was apprehended.

The phrase means "God is great" in Arabic and is an everyday phrase, but is often shouted by Islamist terrorists during attacks.

Police said they believe there is "no further threat to public safety" but urged people to avoid the area for the time being while officers investigate.

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