Accused university stabber, 14, charged

A Sydney teenager has been charged by the NSW terror team after allegedly stabbing a psychology graduate at the University of Sydney with a kitchen knife in July.

Police at the scene of the stabbing at Sydney University in July. Picture: Richard Dobson

A Sydney teenager has been charged by the NSW terror team after allegedly stabbing a psychology graduate at the University of Sydney with a kitchen knife in July.

The 14-year-old from the inner west, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with causing wounding to a person with intent to murder, and three counts of damage property by fire following the alleged random attack on July 2.

Police will allege in court the 14-year-old deliberately set fire to several bins at two locations in Sydney’s inner west the day prior.

He has not been charged with terrorism-related offences, despite terror police indicating they would probe his ideology.

The teenager has been receiving health treatment since the incident, which is understood to have delayed the charges.

CCTV footage showed the alleged perpetrator on Camperdown’s Missenden Road following the alleged attack.

He could be seen dressed in full-body camouflage with a broad brim camouflage hat and black boots, and appeared to be clutching his hand, which police say was injured in the incident.

Officers arrested the boy near Royal Prince Alfred Hospital a short time later.

Melvern Kurniawan, 22, was walking to the university’s Brain and Mind Centre when he was stabbed in the neck. The graduate, who is completing an internship on campus, was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a serious but stable condition, and released shortly after.

The Australian previously revealed the 14-year-old was charged with trying to carry out a “Christchurch-style attack” but the case was dismissed on ­mental-health grounds.

Court documents revealed how he wanted to acquire a rifle to commit a mass shooting, pledging to kill more people than the Christchurch terrorist.

Police also located a 12-page handwritten document at his home that outlined his desire to commit mass murder.

Charges of intimidation with the intent to cause fear of physical harm were dismissed by a Children’s Court magistrate in February because he was “suffering from a mental illness”.

He was put on a treatment plan, which included engaging with a psychologist, family therapist and a case worker from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice’s “NSW Engagement and Support Program” – described on the website as “a voluntary, consent-based program that aims to assist individuals to make positive changes that limit their risk of involvement in violent extremism”.

The matter was heard at a Children’s Court on Tuesday where the 14-year-old was formally refused bail to appear at court on October 1.