Three children, woman hospitalized after Sydney home stabbing

Three children and a woman have been hospitalized following a stabbing attack at a home in Sydney's northwest.

Australian police said yesterday that emergency services were called to reports of multiple people being stabbed at a property in Baulkham Hills - 23 km northwest of central Sydney - at about 5.20am.

On arrival at the house, police officers found a 10-year-old boy, 13-year-old girl, 16-year-old girl and 46-year-old woman with stab wounds.

A police statement said that all four are believed to be known to each other.

They were treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics before being taken to a nearby hospital in a stable condition.

Local media reported that the woman was taken to hospital under police guard and that the police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident. The police have established a crime scene at the property and begun an investigation.

Meanwhile, police were searching for a man who allegedly shot one man and stabbed another, leaving both with life-threatening injuries.

Queensland police said that a 30-year-old man fled the scene after allegedly shooting one neighbor and stabbing another during a dispute in the early hours of yesterday.

Police said emergency services responded to a disturbance at an address in Surfers Paradise - 70 km southeast of Brisbane on Queensland's Gold Coast - just before 2am.

A 21-year-old man was found at the scene with a gunshot wound to his stomach and stab wounds to his back and a 44-year-old male was found with stab wounds to his head, neck and leg.

Both men were taken to a nearby hospital in a critical but stable condition.

Police located a firearm at the scene and launched a search for the 30-year-old male who fled the address before officers arrived.

Officers added that they have a "fair idea" of who they are looking for.

Police added that the incident occurred in a common area after the 44-year-old and 21-year-old males intervened in a disturbance in a neighboring unit.

Xinhua