Maroubra Junction stabbing: Wounded detective slowly recovering

UPDATE: The detective who was stabbed twice by a sex offender he had arrived to arrest is slowly recovering in hospital.

THE senior NSW detective twice stabbed by an accused sex offender, who was then shot dead in a Sydney pub, remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Detective Sergeant John Breda, of the child abuse and sex crimes unit, was stabbed in the chest and abdomen in the beer garden of the busy Maroubra Junction Hotel on Australia Day afternoon while trying to arrest Nick Newman.

Newman, 33, who had been the subject of a court-issued warrant, was shot dead at the scene by two other officers.

The 45-year-old detective was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a critical condition where he underwent emergency surgery.

Detective Sergeant John Breda at the scene of the arrest of an alleged child abuser. Picture: ABC News/Alex McDonald

A police officer with his gun drawn in the beer garden of the Maroubra Junction Hotel when NSW Police Detective Sergeant John Breda was stabbed by wanted alleged child rapist Nick Newman. Picture: 7 News

Detective Sergeant John Breda with his wife Kim. Picture: Facebook.

Police on Sunday said while Det Sgt Breda’s condition “continued to improve,” he was still listed as serious but stable.

Acting NSW Police Commissioner Dave Hudson and Police Minister Troy Grant visited the hospital on Saturday and were briefed on his condition. “(The doctors) are comfortable with his progress so far however he is by no means out of danger,” Mr Hudson said.

Mr Grant drove to Sydney from Dubbo overnight after hearing about the incident. “It’s the worst phone call a minister can get to hear one of NSW’s finest has been injured so severely with his life at threat,” he said.

The day before the stabbing, police issued a public appeal for information on Newman’s whereabouts.

He was scheduled to appear in Penrith Local Court on Wednesday but failed to show.