Man dies after going on car and knife rampage across Sydney

Attack not terror related, police say

The man died at the scene at Forest Road, Arncliffe (Google)

A man has died in Sydney after a rampage in which he rammed a car into a police vehicle, hijacked a truck and a taxi and stabbed a member of the public who tried to stop him.

The 24-year-old then killed himself as police attempted to Taser him on Friday afternoon.

Officers first came into contact with the man when they tried to stop his car in a southern part of Sydney, after noticing that its licence plates were not displayed.

In response the man rammed the four wheel drive into a police car.

The driver then fled and abandoned the car, instead hijacking a supermarket delivery truck, seven kilometres away from the scene.

He drove the truck 20km across the city and reached a suburb near Sydney's airport, but hit several vehicles along the way in dramatic scenes that threw the city into chaos.

A collision eventually brought the truck to a halt but the 24-year-old continued to evade police officers.

He tried to steal another car and stabbed a man described by detectives as "a bystander".

Chris Burton, a tradesman who witnessed the stabbing, said that the attacker looked "crazy and frazzled".

"He goes to the guy, 'stab me, stab me, stab me' and stuck his neck out," he said.

The stabbing victim was taken to hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition.

The driver went on to hijack a taxi and footage posted on social media appears to show him gesturing for the taxi driver to leave the car, before climbing in and driving away.

The man, who was carrying a knife, was stopped shortly afterwards by police officers.

He stabbed himself as they attempted to detain him at around 3.30pm.

The 24-year-old died at the scene. His actions are not believed to be terror related.

"The offender wasn't trying to intentionally harm people," Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Fitzgerald said.

"It was a man who was attempting to do everything he could to avoid arrest."

"His actions, in particular the actions when he stabbed the innocent person, (are) the actions of a person who we believe had mental health problems."

The attacker did not have a significant criminal history but was known to police.

A spokesperson for New South Wales police said that a critical incident investigation had been opened into the rampage.

Additional reporting by agencies

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