From the Courier Mail:

The coppers want to have a chat with this bloke here.

Myer attack victim speaks out
Evan Schwarten
August 30, 2006

POLICE have refused to rule out a racial motive for a knife attack on a Bosnian-born man less than a month after a similar attack on a man of Indian appearance in Brisbane’s CBD.

The 24-year-old student, whose face cannot be identified, told a media conference that he thought he was going to die.

He was waiting with his girlfriend at the Donut King in the food court of the Myer Centre around 2.30pm yesterday when he was stabbed.

The apparently random attack follows an attack on August 5 in which the other man was stabbed, also in the neck, while shopping at a cosmetics store in the Queen Street Mall.

Police today refused to say whether they believed the attacks could be racially motivated.

“At this stage it is too early for us to make any speculation as to what may be the motive,” Detective Inspector Bob Hytch said.

“But we can confirm that both of the incidents have been unprovoked and they have been people who have been shopping around the mall and the Myer centre.”

The victim of the latest stabbing told reporters he feared he was going to die in the moments after the attack.

“Once I saw all the blood running down my hands I sort of thought this is it,” the man, who does not want to be identified, said.

The university student, who has been living in Australia for eight years, said he had just met up with his girlfriend for their weekly lunch date when the attack occurred.

“Nothing was said to me, I just felt a tug on the back of my jacket and I thought it was just a friend at that stage I decided to turn around and that was it, to me it felt like a punch in the neck.

“I stepped back and felt something running down my neck and my girl screamed out that I was bleeding.”

As his attacker walked away the victim watched him put away the blade, which he described as a small knife or pair of scissors, before running away.

The attacker is described as being Caucasian, in his 20s, with light sandy hair.

He was wearing jeans and white t-shirt with a black stripe at the time.

Police have released CCTV vision of the man they believe responsible for the attack.

“Our best bet in relation to solving this crime is assistance from the public and the release of the photographs we are hoping will jog someone’s mind,” Det Insp Hytch said.

“We are certain that we will have some success if we get the right exposure.”