Secret affairs and a love triangle could be the motives behind a frenzied stabbing attack at a Sydney restaurant which left a man dead and a woman seriously injured.
Horrified patrons including young families fled in terror from the Kang Nam BBQ restaurant in Hornsby Westfield Shopping Centre as a couple were stabbed repeatedly while eating dinner about 9.30pm on Wednesday.
A 45-year-old man is in police custody over the killing of the 53-year-old man, and the injuries suffered by a 38-year-old woman, with whom the alleged attacker is thought to have been in a relationship.
"The guy jumped over the counter and stabbed him with a glass bottle. He got two in the neck and two in the stomach and he like dropped," one witness told the Nine Network.
"It was an argument because the guy cheated on his missus for him. The guy was like 'well, you had my missus'."
Rumours also spread among the crowd, many who ran for their lives, that the man had a bomb in his backpack.
That claim is believed to have been made by restaurant staff to keep bystanders from approaching the man, who sat covered in blood beside a fountain for about five minutes waiting for police to arrive.
Peter Dimbrowsky said the man sat calmly in silence.
"I guess there was that fear that there was something in the backpack and he was just waiting for the moment to let it off, but that's unconfirmed," he told reporters.
Footage of the arrest, obtained by AAP, show an officer with her Taser drawn demanding the man drop the backpack and kneel on the ground before he is handcuffed.
Detective Acting Superintendent Damian Henry would not confirm whether a knife or broken bottle was used in the killing, but said a number of items had been taken from the scene for forensic examination.
The relationship between the three people will also be examined, including the possibility of a love triangle and whether there were any court orders in place.
"We're yet to establish if there's a domestic relationship between the three parties," Det Supt Henry said.
"We believe that there might be a domestic relationship between the female and the person assisting inquiries."
Detectives are hoping mobile phone footage captured by shoppers and diners will help them and have urged anyone who filmed the attack or has been sent footage to contact them.
Meanwhile, friends have praised another witness for his bravery after he grabbed a tyre lever and followed the attacker between the restaurant and the fountain, in case anyone else was targeted.
Michael Short, who claimed the man was carrying a "massive hunting knife", criticised Westfield security, who he said did not arrive at the scene until after police, despite being in the area moments before the attack.
"Not saying they had to arrest him or stop him but someone had been stabbed. No first aid kit. Nothing," he said.
A Westfield spokeswoman told AAP she could not comment on the specific security arrangements but said the security team was working with police.
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