Arabic version: رجل يمثل أمام المحكمة على خلفية هجوم في وسط ملبورن

According to ABC News, a 27-year-old man has appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after being charged over an alleged attack on a woman and her 10-year-old son outside Victoria Police headquarters in Melbourne’s CBD.

Police allege the child was punched by a stranger as he walked with his mother and two other children past the police station on Spencer Street on Tuesday. The same man allegedly then repeatedly stabbed the boy’s mother with a pair of scissors. Bystanders restrained a man until police arrived.

The woman and her son were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Jerry Sowood, from Sunshine West, was charged with several offences, including intentionally causing injury and conduct endangering life.

Mr Sowood appeared by video link on Wednesday afternoon. During discussion about health issues that could affect his time in custody, he appeared to describe details of the incident and said the pair were still breathing. He also appeared to decline an offer of a nurse visit and said he had been “in a mental state of mind” when asked whether he took regular medication.

The court heard it was Mr Sowood’s first time in custody. A lawyer said he had not received bail instructions when visiting Mr Sowood, and no bail application was made. Mr Sowood was remanded in custody and is due to return to court in November.