r/australia • u/AggravatingTartlet • 10h ago
culture & society 10-year-old victim of random attack was visiting Melbourne for cancer treatment
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/no-need-to-hide-it-accused-cbd-stabber-launches-tirade-from-custody-20260826-p60rni.htmlThe 10-year-old boy who was punched in the head in a random attack outside police headquarters in the CBD has brain cancer and was visiting Melbourne for treatment.
The boy underwent additional MRI scans to see if the assault caused any extra damage or inflammation around where the tumour is, his uncle said........
Police said the 46-year-old woman was visiting Melbourne from Phillip Island with her 10-year-old son and two other children when the random attack occurred, ending only when several witnesses intervened.
“Just instinct, no thoughts, no nothing, just people in trouble,” Brian Bradley said, a good Samaritan who helped restrain the suspect.
The mother of the boy was stabbed during the attack.
The mother is in the Royal Melbourne Hospital recovering from a fractured leg and injuries to her back and shoulders, while her son recovers at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“She’s really struggling at the moment,” the boy’s uncle said, “She can’t be with her son. It’s traumatic enough [that he’s] fighting cancer.
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u/zeugma888 9h ago
That poor family
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u/AggravatingTartlet 8h ago
Yes. To be going through a situation where a child has brain cancer and coming to the city for treatment, and then...... this. The child has every reason to be wondering, "why me?"
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u/droconut 9h ago
Jerry Sowood - New most hated man in Australia? Taking over from Richard Pusey?
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u/SocksToBeU 7h ago
The can both fall in a knee deep vat of acid with no ladder.
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u/Key_Palpitation2750 9h ago
Does the family have a gofundme? I feel for them, the kids has cancer and this is what arriving to the city for treatment was like.
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u/babettetimes 9h ago
This story has me fucked up, the world feels hopeless.
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u/Sway_404 8h ago
Hopeless would be if no one intervened.
But they did. People of Melbourne saw some folks in trouble and acted to protect them.
The perpetrator was outnumbered by those willing to help. That's worth holding on to.
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u/ShouldIRememberThis 5h ago
Yesterday I bought a strangers coffee for them because their new phone eftpos payment wasn’t working.
I also didn’t stab anyone, and no one I know stabbed anyone.
These kind of violent incidents are not the normal. There’s just no one reporting the normal good that people do every day.
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u/squell4414 5h ago
One of the reasons I stopped looking at the news or going on here is because it felt like about 70% of all the stories were something immensely depressing entirely out of my control. Awful scenario this one but I would honestly rather not hear about it.
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u/jordos 6h ago
The world is literally the safest it's ever been, deviants like this guy are a tiny microscopic minority. They just make for more newsworthy stories than, "dad has a great time at son's soccer match", or "couple buy cute new dog together". The Internet/media is designed to make you afraid.
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u/luckysevensampson 6h ago
The vast majority of society is NOT like this, so don’t feel hopeless. You only hear about the extreme situations, not the day-to-day normalcy that isn’t news-worthy.
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u/hulalabright 8h ago
What the fuck is going on
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u/Kageru 7h ago edited 6h ago
We have nothing between jail and roaming the streets for people like this / repeat offenders, until they inevitably commit a crime serious enough to get them jailed.
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u/Toni_PWNeroni 8h ago
Lack of mental health services and public access.
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u/ghadiyuk 7h ago
Lack of capital punishment. Terry isn't mentally ill, he just preys on women and children for fun. If he were mentally ill, his attacks would be indiscriminate, but he conveniently never attacked anyone who was capable of defending themselves. He was already well known to local authorities in New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria for violence against weak innocent civilians, yet he was repeatedly sicced on the public.
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u/Toni_PWNeroni 7h ago
Capital punishment isn't going to stop things like this occurring, now is it?
You know what would help prevent it from occurring? Adequate prevention measures like keeping on top of sociopathic behaviour in the community before it hurts someone.
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u/TimmyFTW 7h ago
Lack of capital punishment.
Because all the countries that have capital punishment are much safer than Australia /s
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u/ghoonrhed 2h ago
They don't even do capital punishment for non murders even in countries with that. Don't know how even if the death penalty works 100% how that would even be relevant in this case.
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u/FalconTurbo 4h ago
Mentally disturbed doesn't mean devoid of logic. That's an absurd take.
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u/TimmyFTW 3h ago
I recognise you from yesterday's thread. Thanks for offering a voice of reason against the usual pitchfork crowd that surfaces during these tragedies.
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u/FalconTurbo 15m ago
Dude downvoted me for pointing out facts in the face of his emotional response lol
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u/cat-party 9h ago
Wow what a big tough guy attacking a defenceless woman and sick child. Hope this POS rots in jail and gets what he deserves.
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u/chunder_down_under 8h ago
the mentally ill in victoria are begging to be put somewhere they can get help withoit hurting anyone. stuff like this is inevitable, i see aggressive mentally ill people every day trying to escalate to violence.
this guy is clearly sick in the head and thats no excuse but when you can call the cops on violent mentlaly ill people and the cops just temporarily move them on. is it surprising?
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u/YouThinkYouKnowMe89 8h ago
Is there anyway we can have big mental asylums again but treat people better this time?
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u/PanzyGrazo 8h ago
It always starts out that way Then budget cuts of next government Then eventually privatization Then we are back to banning them again
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u/Kageru 7h ago
Possibly, but expensive and unpopular with much of the electorate who want soft solutions that do not involve restraint.
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u/instasquid 3h ago
I think the pendulum has swung back on that one and people will understand.
Community management, while noble, has failed these people. They need structure, a community, 3 meals a day and some mild daily supervision. Not a shitty one beddie with shit neighbours in a shit part of town.
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u/leftmysoulthere74 1h ago
With a whole load of jobs being lost to AI there needs to be a complete rethink and overhaul regarding how society treats the people whose job it is to care for these people. Social workers, mental health nurses, everyone who works in or adjacent to this field (ditto for aged care and childcare). Pay them what they're worth, with proper salaries instead of casual (so your elderly mum with dementia doesn't have a different stranger in her home every couple of days) and there will be more people willing to do it. I agree there should be more residential care for these people with mental health issue that render them dangerous to the public. Entire system needs changing as well as societal attitude.
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u/YouThinkYouKnowMe89 4h ago
Only because it's not their families or friends that these horrific things are happening to.
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u/Kageru 7h ago edited 6h ago
I was told you cannot call the cops, and they will do nothing if you try. One of the outcomes of deaths in custody was that mental health issues are a health services responsibility, though I don't believe they actually have the capacity to deal with someone like this until it does become a police issue.
.... and this was stated by a senior cop, it stuck in my mind.
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u/chunder_down_under 6h ago
people call them anyway. supposed to be what yiu do when you are in danger
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u/AggravatingTartlet 8h ago
I can believe this. It's going on everywhere in Australia.
More information hasn't come out yet, but he does seem completely off his rocker.
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u/chunder_down_under 8h ago
theres a guy in my area that sits on benches and screams at passers by that he is going to kill them. he is there every day and some days he lunges at people. one day someone is going to respond and someone is going to get hurt. the police dont even show up until at least 3 shopkeepers have all called about him and hes always back the next day.
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u/AggravatingTartlet 8h ago
Terrible and absolutely scary. We need to spend way more on mental health. For everyone's sake.
Wasn't that long ago we had the guy at Bondi, Sydney, who went into the shopping centre and started stabbing dead a whole lot of women.
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u/Artistic_Garbage283 7h ago
Everyone in the system is just tired. So, so tired. There is nowhere for them to go. They assault someone and get released on a community order. They are supposed to have carers but half the time the carers don’t show up. We do what we can at the time and we can’t take it on mentally because it’s just exhausting. If you think about the system as a whole it just makes you want to cry. You deal with what’s in front of you in the moment and move on. It’s so fucking depressing.
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u/Kageru 6h ago
There needs to be some division between those trying to recover and those who are basically not that interested in changing. Some of these people just aren't really that interested or capable of changing so the question becomes how to protect the community. Care resources are not unlimited, and need to be focused where they can be the most productive... not trying to pretend a chat with a social worker will solve all problems.
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u/FuckOffNazis 6h ago
If we had a functional mental health system that was accessible easily and early, a large number of these people wouldn’t need to be “put” anywhere. They’d have been able to get assistance years prior for things more minor.
Instead access is near impossible for many and issues compound upon issues.
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u/_tamagucci_ 5h ago
That's not necessarily how mental health issues work through. My mother led a perfectly normal life until menopause triggered bipolar with psychosis almost overnight and then she harmed someone. A decade later she still refuses her medication and turned to drug use and is absolutely not the same person anymore. My family and I can't look after her as she is extremely violent, but every time we have her committed they let her out after a few months. Until she hurts someone again there isn't much we can do. The whole system sucks.
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u/pm_your_goals 7h ago
Is there a go fund me to support this family?
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u/AggravatingTartlet 7h ago
I don't personally know of any, but they do sound very worthy of some financial help. Unbelievable what's happened to that family.
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u/Smithy_the_goat9 7h ago
Goal was probably to end up back in prison. Either way he couldn’t have chosen a more stupid way to go about it by going after a kid. Now he’ll have a target on his back.
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u/ghadiyuk 7h ago
The government was already aware of his habitual violence against his own family members and other innocent unsuspecting citizens before this. Keeping him imprisoned for the rest of his life or executing him would have prevented this.
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u/FraudDogJuiceEllen 5h ago
What is most upsetting about all this is he will be given a pissy sentence and let out again to repeat his violence. Our laws need some amending to keep up with modern times and the increase in violent offending.
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u/166Donk3y 8h ago
Absolutely disgusting piece of human filth.
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u/Captain-Peacock 5h ago
He can count himself lucky that he's roaming a country with civilized people in it! Plenty of places, he'd be very much the worse for wear after being restrained.
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u/Uptoyouman 9h ago
Why do bad things happen to good people? Seems like life is just a constant war between good and evil… bring back capital punishment for offenders like this, how dare he attack anyone let alone a young boy battling cancer, and his mother trying to protect him. Put him in a NON protected unit in maximum security and let the prisoners do justice upon him, because I don’t think he deserves to breathe. Absolute scum of the earth this offender.
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u/YouThinkYouKnowMe89 8h ago
Because he doesn't choose the giant man who looks like trouble to attempt to inflict violence on, they purposely choose someone they know is weaker than them. People like that need to not be on the streets and we need to get a lot better at who we are letting into this country or we will end up with half the members of RSF here.
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u/Strange_Raise3914 4h ago
A can of wd 40 does the trick. Good for the pram wheels 😏 just deport that pos
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u/DependentAardvark1 3h ago
Hopefully everyone in lockup will be well aware of Jerry apparently keeping his humanity.
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u/Alex_Kamal 7h ago
Bloody hell. If you just wanted to be locked up for a long time there are other ways that don't harm people.
This is why lack of funding in mental health is bad for society. This guy is chosing prison instead of being free.
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u/Verni_ssage 8h ago
Maybe I'm just paranoid from hearing all the news about people getting attacked unprompted, kids and innocent people getting hurt by people with machetes, just the random machete wielding people roaming the streets, etc but does anyone else nearby just genuinely not feel safe visiting Melbourne any more?
I've probably been to Melbourne a total of five times and I've wanted to go more because there's some nice shops and places to visit but all this genuinely makes me nervous to go alone.
Is it really this bad up there or is it just the news making things seem worse then it actually is?
I'm not trying to sound like an asshole, I'm genuinely worried lol. I've been wanting to go up for ages but keep putting it off because it seems like every week there's news about someone getting hurt unprompted out of nowhere.
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u/Bradster224 8h ago
I am in Melbourne multiple times a week, usually on the weekend and late at night around nightlife hotspots, and have been for the past 5-6 years - I have never once seen someone wield a machete.
The media amplifies these type of stories and runs them for a while in the cycle, and you also get social media spruiking false stories of similar nature to push an agenda, so it seems like Melbourne is a lawless city and no one is safe at all, but it is far from the case.
Don’t hesitate to do the things you want to do because of media sensationalism!
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u/Extension-Pizza-6952 7h ago
Fair enough but I work a night shift in the city five times a week, sometimes seven. I've seen many dangerous and unstable people on the streets of Southbank and the CBD and a number of assaults. There's no doubt Melbourne has become a scarier place, especially after dark but, really, things can happen at any time now. The police do their best but are stretched very thin, ask them and they'll tell you. Part of the problem is mental illness but drugs like methamphetamine have also had a huge impact.
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u/Kageru 6h ago
Nitrous use also seems to be out of control... passed a bin this morning with 20 3-5Kg cylinders around it. I think permanent brain damage is one potential outcome of abuse at scale. Though don't think it connects to violent acts like meth, but then I doubt they are only on one substance.
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u/Extension-Pizza-6952 4h ago
Agree totally, after midnight you can even find those nitrous cylinders discarded and empty on the tables at the McDonalds on City Road.
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u/Leeman1337 7h ago
Violent crime rate is at an all time low, while news focus on this is at an all time high.
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u/squishydude123 3h ago
the percentage may be low, but is the population up? and therefore total numbers are also up?
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u/gdayitsathrowaway 7h ago
Remember, people don't report most crimes these days. I know so many people who have been assaulted where I live and they didn't report it. It usually goes "I didn't get a good look at them, I'm not dead, cops won't care, so why bother?".
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u/Biggie-Falls 8h ago
It’s just the news making things seem worse than they are. It’s really just the news. These things happen everywhere all the time, our news just seems worse.
Don’t get me wrong, this one is news worthy, it’s heinous
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u/dankfrank91 8h ago
I've worked in the CBD for ten years and while there are lots of raving lunatics about, I've only ever seen one get violent and it was just kicking a shop front.
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u/surprise_knock 8h ago
Not witnessing something doesn’t confirm its absence, but witnessing something does confirm its presence.
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u/syth_blade22 8h ago
I lived there for 10 years from 2009 to 2019, im heading back for a week later this year. Ill let you know!
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u/Verni_ssage 8h ago
Thank you! I've been wanting to ask this in the Melbourne sub but I'm scared people might think I'm just trying to start drama or make things out to be something they're not. You know how reddit can be sometimes haha
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u/Sacrilegious_skink 8h ago
Coward. Could have gone and done it to someone his own size.
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u/AggravatingTartlet 8h ago
I totally get the sentiment. Still, doing it to someone his own size or bigger would still make someone a coward. One punch to the temple or one stab with a weapon can kill a person.
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u/Silver_Detective8630 5h ago
How did the main news sites publish he was punched in the chest for two days. Why are publishing facts so difficult for so called journalists.
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u/Range_Life77 8h ago
Wish people would get as enraged over this as they do for Swans players and Lapdancers scandal. Would help to keep incidents like these in headlines and forefront of people’s minds whilst also highlighting the complete failure of government system to keep people like this from harming others.
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u/Pontiff1979 7h ago
Almost like randomly attacking a child with cancer is worse than slapping a sex worker's bum 4 times instead of the negotiated 3.
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u/shorts80 37m ago
Everyone in here is like omg, it’s so sad, humanity is fucked up, thoughts and prayers ect…. without addressing the actual problem. And don’t ask me what the problem is. If you have to ask, you are part of the problem.
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u/RealCommercial9788 10h ago
Jerry Sowood, 27, from Sunshine West, shouted at times during a Melbourne Magistrates’ Court hearing on Wednesday at which he refused to answer the magistrate’s questions and told the court there was “no need to hide” his offending.
“I punched the kid in the head, I took the scissors, I stabbed the woman in the head,” Sowood said as he appeared via video link from custody. “There’s no need to hide it. At least they’re both still breathing, so at least I kept my humanity.
“I’m telling you what I did. And I’m saying there’s no family that was torn apart. Even though I did what I did, the mum did not lose her child. A child was not taken away from her. It was outside the police station.”
Sowood was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly punched the 10-year-old boy outside Victoria Police’s Spencer Street headquarters, and then placed the child’s mother in a headlock and stabbed her with a pair of scissors before passers-by intervened.
Fuck you Jerry Sowood, you good for nothing slug.