A Good Samaritan has been stabbed after discovering a man who allegedly had his ‘pants halfway down’ and was sexually assaulting a girl in a dance school toilet.
Chilling details have emerged about the shocking attack inside a toilet at the St George Dance Centre in Kogarah, south of Sydney, about 8pm on Thursday.
A 54-year-old man was arrested by police after allegedly sexually assaulting the seven-year-old girl and stabbing a 46-year-old man, who heard a commotion and ran to help.
Witnesses in nearby businesses said they heard ‘blood-curdling screams’ coming from the toilet, then saw a man with his ‘pants halfway down’.
Police revealed on Friday the man who confronted the young girl’s alleged attacker was one of a number of parents helping her family in their desperate search for her after she went missing.
A 46-year-old man has been stabbed after rushing to the aid of a young girl who was allegedly being sexually assaulted by another man, 54, in the toilets of a dance studio in Sydney’s south
The seven-year-old was allegedly attacked at the St George Dance Centre in Kogarah, south of Sydney, about 8pm on Thursday (pictured)
‘He was aware that the child could not be accounted for and was assisting others in locating her,’ NSW Police Superintendent Julian Griffiths said.
After discovering the man in the toilet with the young girl, a brawl broke out that saw the Good Samaritan stabbed multiple times in the stomach and neck with a medical scalpel.
Supt Griffiths said the alleged attacker was expected to be question in coming days, but was currently under guard in hospital after also suffering injuries in the brawl.
He also confirmed the alleged attacker was a local but not associated with the dance studio. He, the girl and the Good Samaritan were also not known to each other.
‘It appears to be a random, isolated incident,’ Supt Griffiths said.
‘[He] will not be in a position to assist police inquiries until early next week or when we receive medical advice to confirm he’s available to be spoken to.’
Witness have told how moments after the Good Samaritan was stabbed, a man ran out onto the street and screamed for help.
The girl, the Good Samaritan and the attacker – a local man – were not known to each other
A group of bystanders rushed to his aid and also helped detain the alleged offender until police swarmed the dance studio.
‘Someone came out and yelled: “Call the police he’s trying to kill him”,’ Mo Hariri told AAP.
In the hectic moments that followed, the group of revellers heard another man at the scene scream: ‘Where is my daughter?’
The stabbing victim then stumbled down the stairs from the first floor dance studio and collapsed on the street, where a friend of Mr Hariri’s performed CPR and applied pressure to his wounds.
A dance teacher who works at the same studio said a contemporary dance class for teenage girls was regularly held at the centre on Thursday nights.
Local dance troupe ACTiv Elite Performers posted a message of support to the girl on Facebook.
The girl had been involved in one of the dance classes when she went to the toilet. Her family and other parents at the dance studio began to search for her after she failed to return
Local dance troupe ACTiv Elite Performers posted a message of support to the girl on Facebook (pictured)
‘Our hearts go out to our friends at St George Dance Centre after hearing the news of this senseless and violent attack in our community,’ the troupe wrote.
‘Lots of love to the families, staff and children affected and to the brave man who intervened.’
The Good Samaritan remains in St George Hospital in a stable condition, while the young girl went to Sydney Children’s Hospital for observation.
Supt Griffiths said a strikeforce had been set up to investigate what he admitted was a ‘concerning’ matter.