A man accused of murder over a triple stabbing at a busy shopping strip in western Sydney yesterday had absconded from a mental health facility 10 days earlier, health authorities have confirmed.

A 38-year-old man was killed and two other shoppers were critically injured in what police described as a “random” stabbing spree on Merrylands Road at about 10am.

CCTV from inside the Nepalese mini mart where the violence broke out shows the alleged attacker approaching the till dressed in a white bucket hat, moments prior to the stabbing.

CCTV from inside the minimart shows the moments before an alleged stabbing rampage. (9News)
Paramedics, police and fire crews are all responding to an alleged stabbing at Terminal Place in Merrylands. (9News)

The three alleged victims were not believed to be known to one another.

Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) has now confirmed that the alleged attacker had absconded from their care while being transferred between hospitals on February 7.

“The District is aware a person alleged to be involved in the incident is a recent patient of Cumberland Hospital, which provides acute inpatient care for people with complex mental health needs.,” WSLHD said in a statement.

“On 7 February 2026, this person absconded from care while being transferred from Cumberland Hospital to Westmead Hospital emergency department for further medical assessment.”

Police were notified and the patient’s family was contacted, but “all attempts” by the hospital to contact them were unsuccessful.

Cumberland Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital located in Westmead, just a few minutes’ drive from Westmead Hospital.

Health authorities had been unable to contact the 25-year-old murder accused for 10 days after he absconded from inpatient care at Cumberland Hospital. (Today / Supplied)
The 25-year-old man accused of the deadly attack was being transferred to Westmead Hospital’s emergency department for further medical assessment when he absconded. (Nine / Dean Sewell)

Police Superintendent Simon Glasser yesterday described the attack as “highly confronting”.

“It’s a horrible [alleged] offence to have taken place in Merrylands just prior to lunch time – there were lots of people around,” he said, speaking outside Merrylands Police Station.

“It was obviously very confronting for anyone who was in the area.”

Glasser said police were at the scene “within a minute or two” and began locking down the street.

They established a crime scene spanning 50 metres along Merrylands Road.

The alleged attacker was found in the backyard of a property on nearby Smythe Street, where he was arrested.

A knife was found by police but is yet to be linked to the random attack. (Nine)

He was charged overnight with murder and two counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.

Police and paramedics treated three people, but one man, aged 38, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two others – a 21-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman – were taken to Westmead Hospital where they remain in a critical condition this morning.

9News understands the man was stabbed in the neck while the woman was stabbed in the chest and abdomen.

Charges against the Merrylands local are yet to be laid. (Nine)

The man who died is yet to be formally identified.

Police were seen searching the front yard and driveway of a home.

Glasser said police found a knife “similar to a kitchen knife, approximately 20 to 30 centimetres in length” at the property where the alleged attacker was found, but it had not been confirmed that this was the weapon allegedly used.

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SOURCE: https://www.9news.com.au/national/merrylands-stabbing-western-sydney/44aaf498-04eb-4ff3-9fa1-e2f1fef3feed