Daily Mail Australia’s Zak Wheeler and NCA Newswire’s Duncan Evans
Updated December 20, 2023 08:33, December 20, 2023 10:10
A man has reportedly broken into a real estate office and stabbed two people in a “passerby” attack, leaving one woman dead and another hospitalized.
The man was also said to be armed with a hammer and was seen entering a group of real estate agents on the same day. Lydia Street, Plimpton, Adelaide, about 3.40pm on Wednesday.
Emergency services rushed to the scene shortly after and found a man waiting outside “calmly” while the seriously injured women remained inside.
Paramedics, assisted by MedStar’s specialist team, spent more than an hour trying to resuscitate the woman, who was in her 30s, but she died at the scene shortly after.
Police arrested a 30-year-old man, who neither man knew, and he is expected to be charged with murder.
The surviving woman, a woman in her 40s, was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious injuries and subsequently underwent emergency surgery.
witness told 9News They could do nothing but listen as they heard the screaming start as soon as the man entered the building.
“I hear a woman screaming and I’m just listening to the door slam,” one woman said.
“It was really scary to stand here and watch, it was scary to watch,” added another.
The estate’s building was located next to a supermarket parking lot, and there were families watching the event unfold.
Two witnesses said the man was “calm” and able to talk to him before police arrived, and said he had allegedly dropped the hammer and was sitting outside.
Major crime investigators and forensic investigators are currently surrounding the area of Lydia Street, which is currently closed off.
At a press conference on Wednesday night, Chief Inspector Kieran Baggoley said the man in custody was known to police.
“At this stage we are in the very early stages of the investigation.” [but] “This is expected to be an indiscriminate attack,” he said.
“There is no information to suggest it was anything else. No motive related to the robbery has been confirmed.
“There is no motive associated with the robbery identified at this time.”
Detective Inspector Baggory added that a knife and a small hammer were recovered from the scene. Forensic scientists were scheduled to remain there overnight.
Police urged people to avoid the area, about 6.6 kilometers from the Adelaide CBD.
Officers say the man was seen wandering around Lydia Street and the Anzac Highway before the attack and are appealing for anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
SA Health confirmed that the detained man had recently been released from hospital.Intensive care order on Monday.
The chief psychiatrist said he would reconsider the case.
This will continue in the future.