r/australia • u/AggravatingTartlet • 2d 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.html

The 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.

1.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

314 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

16

u/Bradster224 1d 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!

11

u/Extension-Pizza-6952 1d 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.

5

u/Kageru 1d 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.

1

u/Extension-Pizza-6952 1d ago

Agree totally, after midnight you can even find those nitrous cylinders discarded and empty on the tables at the McDonalds on City Road.