A woman pushing her newborn baby in a stroller was forced to take shelter inside a shop after she was allegedly harassed by a knife-wielding stranger.
The 72-year-old man allegedly followed the mother and baby along Elizabeth Drive in Liverpool, in Sydney’s western suburbs, shortly after 7pm on Friday.
In CCTV footage from inside a nearby supermarket, the woman is seen running in and telling the shop owner to close the front doors.
The owner of the supermarket, Simon Sari, said 9News He armed himself with a Stanley knife to protect himself and the new mother.
“All we see is a girl coming in saying ‘close the door, close the door’ and then we see a man chasing her with a knife,” Sari recalled.
“I was shaking, I was scared to death. She cried. She was very scared.
The woman and her baby were forced to take shelter in a convenience store in Liverpool, western Sydney, after a man allegedly stalked her armed with a knife.
The 72-year-old Liverpool man was allegedly armed with a kitchen knife (pictured)
Sari was able to convince the man to put away the kitchen knife before police officers arrived and tackled him to the ground.
The mother is seen holding her daughter close to her chest before giving the baby a tender kiss on the head as the man is handcuffed.
The 72-year-old Liverpool man was charged with carrying a knife in public, causing fear for safety and impeding or resisting a police officer in the execution of his duty.
“At approximately 7.10pm yesterday (Friday 17 May 2024), emergency services were called to a business on the corner of Elizabeth Drive and Castlereagh Street, Liverpool, following reports of a man with a knife,” police said in a statement.
“Police attached to Liverpool City Police Area Command attended and arrested a 72-year-old man.”
The shop’s owner, Simon Sari, locked the doors and armed himself with a Stanley knife.
He was granted bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday.
At 11.40am on Saturday, police arrested the man and further charged him with two counts of stalking/intimidating with intent to fear bodily harm.
He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday.