Boy accused of stabbing Sydney University student has previous charges, authorities say

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A state government minister said Wednesday that a 14-year-old boy charged with stabbing student At the University of Sydney, he faced charges that were dismissed by a court, while newspapers reported he was accused of threatening to shoot other students.

The boy remained in a Sydney hospital for a mental health assessment the day after the attack on Tuesday morning, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.

“We need to make sure that we provide services and support to these children who are radicalised online and their families,” Catley told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Police said the boy took a bus to the hospital where he was stabbed to seek treatment for a cut on his hand. He was arrested at the hospital.

The 22-year-old student who was stabbed once in the neck was released from the same hospital overnight, Catley said.

The boy was wearing military clothing and used a kitchen knife in the attack, police said.

Catley said the suspect was charged by police last year and a court dismissed the charges. She added that he had completed a Department of Communities and Justice programme, which media reports described as a deradicalisation programme.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources, that the suspect was charged last year with threatening to shoot classmates at his Sydney school and threatening to harm himself, but a magistrate dismissed the charges in February on mental health grounds.

Police have not yet determined the motive or filed a complaint.