A 29-year-old Frenchman shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he stabbed a British woman to death and wounded two people at a backpackers’ hotel in Australia, police said on Wednesday.
The officials said that he had no known links to radical groups such as Islamic State, which had urged its followers to carry out attacks with knives or other readily available weapons.
British and Australian media identified the dead woman as Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, from the English county of Derbyshire.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said that the deceased was in the country on a working holiday.
A 30-year-old British man was also in critical condition in hospital after the attack in Queensland State, South of the city of Townsville.
A 30-year-old British man was also in critical condition in hospital after the attack in Queensland State, South of the city of Townsville.
Police said they were not ruling out any motive.
“Initial inquiries indicate that comments which may be construed of being of an extremist nature were made by the alleged offender,” Queensland Police Service Deputy Commissioner, Steve Gollschewski, told reporters.
He said, “This person appears to have acted alone; he is a visitor to Australia and has no known local connections.
“However, investigations are ongoing.”
