Man allegedly stabbed after being asked for a cigarette
A DRAMATIC arrest has been made in Bankstown following a stabbing that has left a man in a critical condition.
At 10.40am, police were called to Cafe Nho in Bankstown City Plaza, after a reports a 50-year-old man had been stabbed.
The man was wounded in the chest and was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious condition.
While a crime scene was being established, police were scouring the streets looking for the attacker.
About 11.45am, a 35-year-old man was dramatically arrested just 50m from where the incident took place.
An eyewitness, Jamie Stewart, of Bankstown, saw the attack unfold and said the assailant had asked the victim for a cigarette.
He said when the man said he did not have a cigarette, the alleged attacker pulled out a knife.
"And then bang: stab, stab, stab," Mr Stewart said.
Mr Stewart assisted police to identify the alleged attacker.
"It's sad an old man gets stabbed over a cigarette; it shouldn't happen," Mr Stewart said. "Everything happens in Bankstown ... if I had kids I wouldn't want them to grow up here."
The alleged assailant has been taken Bankstown police station where he is assisting with inquiries.
