Two separate knife attacks in Australia over the weekend serve as a stark reminder that  threats that impact public security are constantly evolving. It also highlights the dire need for governments to address mental health issues seriously. In Sri Lanka, mental health remains an area which is underfunded and least supported, with limited resources, specialist and trained personnel available. 

The two incidents in Australia, which as of last evening, claimed the lives of six persons, are still in the early stages of investigation. Yesterday (15) a Bishop and several people were stabbed during a church service in Sydney, with the Police investigating the incident that comes just days after another knife attack in the Australian city. The Australian Police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed six people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall earlier in the weekend, and injured more than a dozen others, attempted to target women while avoiding men. The Police shot and killed the homeless assailant, Joel Cauchi, during his knife attack in the Westfield Bondi Junction mall on Saturday (13) near world-famous Bondi Beach. The killer’s father, appearing on television, later blamed his son’s frustration at not having a girlfriend. In respect to Saturday’s attack which cost the lives of six, Australian authorities have ruled out terrorism and said the 40-year-old had a history of mental illness.

Mass-casualty knife attacks have over the past few years become a last-ditch, or easy entry-level access tactic for individuals who have become indoctrinated with violent extremist ideologies. A spate of mass-casualty knife attacks, in Europe and the United Kingdom over the last few years, have been linked with ‘lone wolf’ extremists, many of whom were vulnerable youth, indoctrinated to into extremist ideologies–online, and groomed for such violence by those who spread such hate. Knife attacks, especially on public gatherings, or targeted to specific communities, such as Jewish businesses, and synagogues, have often been linked to the ISIS and or Al-Qaida ideologies, or the many branches of them. In Europe, such actions have had similar reactions to the ‘active shooter’ threats, largely seen in North America (Also seen in New Zealand, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan). Several organised knife attacks (multiple attackers, organised and coordinated) occurred in China over the last decade, and at the time, Chinese authorities blamed the deaths, (29 killed and 140 injured in a June 2014 attack) on ‘Uighur extremists’ from the western Xinjiang region. China has long been criticised for their crackdown on the ethnic Uighurs.  Knives are, broadly speaking, invaluable tools from any community, and as such are difficult to control. Despite strict knife-related laws, the United Kingdom today struggles to contain a growing knife-related crime spree.

Sri Lanka is no stranger to knife-related mass-casualty violence, with incidents involving multiple victims reported frequently. However, many such incidents are linked to organised crime, drug-related turf wars, and long standing personal vendettas. However, Sri Lanka has also seen some knife/sword linked mass casualty incidents in the North of the island, which the Police have claimed was linked to a regional gang. Some have disputed the Police interpretation. Nevertheless, knife/edged weapon-related crime is frequently reported from across the island, and in many cases, are linked to jealous lovers, broken relationships, cultural differences in romance etc. The need for a comprehensive study into what role mental health plays in knife-related crime in Sri Lanka is telling. However, since mental health is largely a ‘taboo’ topic and is not often taken up seriously by law makers, the scope of the issue may well be swept under the carpet, like many incidents related to mental health.   

While the exact reasons for such violent outbursts often vary, the outcomes are often similar; unwarranted death, injury and life changing trauma for the victims. Irrespective of how and why such attacks occur, public security and public health systems, and authorities who run emergency response units, need to take knife-related mass-casualty incidents seriously. It is the responsibility of the Government to identify Sri Lanka’s mental health issues and resultant crime, and craft solutions for such.  Imagine if such an attack were to occur in your neighbourhood, or at a public venue, in public transport, or aimed at a group of tourists, or schoolchildren, we would all be scrambling to point figures at each other for responsibility. Therefore, such issues need to be identified as public security and public health concerns, and addressed diligently, so that this island, which has seen more than its share of tragedies, is not visited by those seen in Australia last weekend.