A man who allegedly ambushed and stabbed his former girlfriend in the throat outside a popular gym has been revealed by police as a repeat domestic violence offender.
Emergency services were called to Crunch Fitness Alexandria, in Sydney‘s south, at about 12.30pm on Wednesday after a man – believed to be in his 40s – allegedly attacked a 39-year-old woman with a ‘kitchen-style knife’ as she left the gym.
Horrified witnesses recalled a loud scream as the woman, who was bleeding from her neck and ears, rushed into the gym to seek help.
The alleged perpetrator, who previously dated the woman for a short time, fled the scene in a grey Ford Focus hatchback.
Police launched a major manhunt on Wednesday afternoon for a 40-year-old man known to the woman. He remained on the run late Wednesday night.
Officers allege the man has a history of violence toward women and that an AVO was put in place just last month banning him from going near his former girlfriend.
A woman has been allegedly stabbed by a man at the Crunch Fitness gym in Alexandria (pictured) before she was rushed to hospital with wounds to neck, head, and back
Pictured: abandoned gym kit in the car park outside the gym
The alleged perpetrator, who previously dated the woman for a short time, fled the scene in a car, with police launching a major manhunt to find him. Pictured is a forensic officer at the scene
‘We believe that the offender is known to the victim, we believe that they had been in the past – earlier this year – been in a very short domestic relationship,’ Detective Superintendent Rodney Hart told reporters on Wednesday.
‘So this has been treated as domestic violence related.’
Det Supt Hart added that the man is known to police for domestic violence-related offences.
‘We believe that he used a knife, a kitchen-style knife, and we are concerned that he may still be armed,’ he added.
The stabbing occurred just weeks after the woman sought an AVO against the man, which was grant and put in place for her protection, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before she was rushed to hospital in a serious but stable condition
Police said that the alleged perpetrator is known to police for domestic violence related offences
The man is described as 170 to 175 centimetres tall, of ‘muscular to solid build’ with dark hair and possibly a dark beard.
It’s believed he allegedly fled the scene in a 2006 grey Ford Focus hatchback with the registration AYQ14W.
Police urged the man to hand himself in.
‘We are going to find him and we are going to arrest him,’ Det Supt said.
Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before she was rushed to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Police requested media did not name the hospital she was taken to, in order to protect her privacy while the alleged perpetrator is still at large.
Det Supt Hart said that the injured woman was ‘going to be okay’, despite the frightening ordeal.
‘It’s horrendous what has happened to this poor victim,’ he added.
‘We are taking this matter extremely seriously. I’m grateful the victim, at this stage, is going to be OK.’
Witnesses said they saw a man attacking the woman in the gym’s car park before he fled in a small vehicle.
‘I heard a scream, not like a normal scream,’ one witness said.
Another said that the man ‘was on top of her … then he just took off’.
One witness described how the woman ran into the gym with blood pouring out of her neck and from her ears.
Police have established a crime scene outside the gym, with the car park blocked off to the public
Gym staff provided first aid to the injured woman until emergency services arrived.
‘She had blood all over. She was in her gym clothes and had a jacket on,’ one witness said.
‘There was heaps of police, and they were investigating what happened.’
Another witness said the officers were assisting the woman by wrapping bandages around her neck until paramedics arrived.
‘It’s kind of scary. I’ve been to the gym for three years and it’s the first time anything like this has happened,’ he said.
One witness (pictured) said the woman who was wearing gym clothes had blood all over her
Another witness (right) said police were doing their best to attend to the woman by applying bandages to the wounded areas, while a woman (right) said it was a ‘hectic five minutes’
One woman said she heard screaming just as she was making her way up the stairs to go to the gym.
‘He was on top of the girl, and I don’t what he was trying to do.
‘It was a really hectic five minutes,’ she said.
Police have established a crime scene outside the gym, with the car park blocked off to the public.
Detectives are reviewing all CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
