Australian police arrest 14-year-old boy suspected of stabbing student at University of Sydney

MELBOURNE, Australia — A 14-year-old boy dressed in military fatigues has been arrested after police allege he stabbed a 22-year-old student in the neck Tuesday at the University of Sydney.

The student was taken to hospital in a stable condition. The suspect was treated at hospital for cuts and was being held for a mental health assessment, NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton said.

“The motive or ideology has not yet been determined,” Walton told reporters. The New South Wales Joint Counter-Terrorism Committee has investigated the case, but there is no ongoing threat to the community, Walton said.

“The ideology that might be related to this young person's activity is unknown, but I would say it is probably classified as a mixed and unclear ideology. It is certainly not an ideology related to religion,” Walton added.

Walton said the boy was wearing a “defence force camouflage uniform” and had left a kitchen knife at the scene.

Investigators have found no link between the university attack and a 16-year-old boy accused of committing a terrorist act by stabbing a Sydney bishop on April 15 while a church service was being streamed online. Several of his teenage accomplices have been charged with various offences, including conspiracy to commit or planning a terrorist act.

The stabbing on Tuesday sparked a major police operation and the lockdown of buildings at Australia's oldest university.

The police operation has since ended and all areas of the campus are now accessible, the university said in a statement.

“The safety and well-being of our students, staff and community members is our priority and we continue to work with authorities,” the statement said.