By Sally Rawsthorne
A man has been arrested over a crime spree in Sydney's inner west on Monday night, in which a motorist was carjacked and seven people were threatened with a knife.
The man was arrested at 5am on Wednesday at a home in Glebe, and was taken to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where he remains under assessment for physical injuries and his mental health.
The alleged crime spree began just before 9.30pm on Monday. A 48-year-old man in Ultimo had entered his parked Citroen C4 hatchback when a man allegedly armed with a knife approached him.
The armed man allegedly opened the driver's door and forced him out, then drove away on Harris Street.
An hour later, a man allegedly waved a knife through a car window at a husband and wife sitting in a parked Mercedes GLC in the car park of a take-away restaurant on Concord Road, North Strathfield, threatening them.
"He lunged at the driver on three occasions with what is described as a four to five-centimetre knife before the driver, luckily, was able to speed away," Burwood commander Superintendent David Johnson said on Tuesday.
A 2005 Citroen C4 hatchback, similar to what was stolen in Ultimo.
"That driver ... only put the window down because he believed that person needed assistance."
The couple drove away unharmed.
Fifteen minutes later, a man with a knife approached 22-year-old Ustav Bhujel and a co-worker outside a restaurant on Rider Boulevard in Rhodes.
Mr Bhujel, who was allegedly threatened at knifepoint, said he was quick to give up his cash.
"He was asking 'give me your wallet, give me your wallet. OK OK, I'll give you some money'," he told Seven News.
He stole cash from the pair, fleeing the scene in the Citroen.
A short time later, a 25-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man parked in an Audi RS6 on the same street were approached by the man.
"He attempted to carjack that vehicle by dragging the male occupant out of the vehicle and robbing him of an amount of cash," Superintendent Johnson said.
The man then fled again in the Citroen, which was found abandoned in Newtown on Tuesday afternoon.
Describing the events of Monday night as "concerning," he said "the demeanour of this person, he was on all occasions very aggressive and screaming at the drivers to get out.
"That this person just proceeded from one incident to the next is of a major concern to police," Superintendent Johnson added.
Police are urging people who may be carjacked or similar to surrender their belongings.
"Property is property, you can't replace a life," Superintendent Johnson said. "If someone is threatened under these circumstances, police advise to hand over that property."
The man is expected to face court on Thursday.