A man has been charged after a woman was allegedly stabbed in a “targeted” domestic violence attack outside a Sydney gym.
Anthony Monteleone, 45, was arrested after turning up at Dee Why police station on Thursday morning.
He was taken to Manly Police Station where he was charged with causing wounding/grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder (DV) and contravening the ban/restriction on AVO (national).
He will appear at Manly Local Court on Friday.
Emergency services were called to the Crunch Fitness gym in Alexandria, in the city’s inner south, at around 12.30pm on Wednesday after a man allegedly stabbed a 39-year-old woman inside the car park before fleeing in a vehicle. .
Antonio Monteleon
The woman, who was rushed to hospital in a serious but stable condition, suffered injuries to her neck, upper body and head during the attack.
A witness told Nine News he saw the woman bleeding from her neck and ears.
One witness, named Claire, told ABC she was about to enter the gym when she heard “a scream” and said she saw the man on top of the woman.
‘Due to the distance, I wasn’t sure what he was trying to do to her. “It seemed like he was attacking her or she was trying to rob him,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said Wednesday’s stabbing was a “horrific and shocking” attack.
“Being in that situation would be any woman’s worst nightmare, especially someone who has an arrest warrant issued for domestic violence,” she said.
‘It is important to say that these events are not rare either. They are common and the number and frequency of domestic violence crimes in New South Wales represent an absolute emergency in the state.’
His comment comes as the government is set to introduce bail reform in domestic violence cases, with the Prime Minister signaling on Thursday that he was open to further reforms to how Arrested Violence Orders (AVOs) are monitored.
The attack comes a day after the New South Wales government flagged the introduction of greater police powers that would allow authorities to “check” people for knives in areas such as shopping centers and transport hubs.
The laws, which are likely to be introduced in the NSW parliament next week, will be available in circumstances where a relevant gun or knife crime has occurred in the last six months and will be available to police for 12 hours , with the option to extend them.
