A 14-year-old boy dressed in military clothing was arrested after allegedly stabbing a 22-year-old student in the neck at the University of Sydney on Tuesday.
The student was hospitalised in stable condition, while the suspect was treated for cuts and underwent a mental health assessment.
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According to Mark Walton, the Acting Assistant Commissioner for the New South Wales Police, the motive or ideology has not been determined.
The New South Wales Joint Counterterrorism Committee is investigating, but there is no ongoing threat to the community,” Mr Walton said.
“I would say it’s likely to be categorised as mixed and unclear ideology. It’s certainly not a religiously related ideology,” he added.
Mr Walton mentioned that the boy wore a “camouflage defence force uniform” and left a kitchen knife at the scene.
The teenager then caught a bus from the university to a nearby hospital for treatment before being arrested.
The incident happened a few months after a separate case in which police shot dead a 16-year-old boy who had stabbed a stranger in a parking lot in Perth.
That boy had been involved in a deradicalisation program for two years, but authorities did not classify the knifing as a terrorist attack, partly due to the lack of a continuing threat.
Walton confirmed that the boy accused of the university attack had previously come to the attention of police and other government agencies but did not provide further details.
“The internet is toxic and it’s very easy for young people, especially, to self-radicalised, to move towards violence,” he said.
“The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and members of the community are our priority, and we continue to work with authorities,” the university said in a statement.
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