Australia stabbings: Man on the run after woman attacked

A man wanted over a domestic violence-related stabbing attack outside an inner Sydney gym remains on the run.

Police say the 39-year-old victim was knifed in the neck, head and back in the car park outside Crunch Fitness at Alexandria yesterday afternoon after her assailant lay in wait.

They have described the 40-year-old suspect as a former partner of the victim and someone known to them for previous domestic violence offences.

The woman was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Detective Superintendent Rodney Hart said officers were treating the incident as a targeted attack.

“We believe they had been in the past — earlier this year — been in a very short domestic relationship,” he told reporters from the scene.

“We believe he used a knife, a kitchen-style knife, and we are concerned that he may still be armed,” he added.

“It’s horrendous what has happened to this poor victim.”

Witnesses reported hearing the woman scream as she was walking towards her car.

“When I was about to open the door, up to the gym, I heard a scream… it was not a normal scream,” one woman told reporters.

“Because of the distance, I wasn’t sure what he was trying to do to her… it looked like he was attacking her or he was trying to rob her.”

The witness believed the man was hiding in the car park, as she did not see him when she arrived.

A second man stepped in to stop the attack.

Another witness saw the woman helped upstairs into the gym, where staff began first aid.

“She ran all the way upstairs, she was bleeding from the neck, from her ears,” he said.

Detectives were still on scene as night fell yesterday, collecting and bagging items from the car park as well as the woman’s car.

One man leaving the gym told AAP he knew the woman and said she visited the gym most mornings.

He believed she had only been dating the alleged offender for a matter of weeks.