A man is dead after being attacked outside a Northern Territory shopping centre and a woman is in hospital with significant injuries after being stabbed.

May 27, 2021

A man has died after being stabbed outside a Darwin shopping centre and a woman is in a serious condition after being assaulted at a nearby home.

The 20-year-old man was attacked in the car park of the Karama Shopping Plaza in Darwin about 11pm on Wednesday, Northern Territory police said on Thursday.

He had been standing with friends when two men in a dark-coloured 4WD pulled up and approached the group, Detective Senior Sergeant Jakson Evans told reporters.

“One of the males from the SUV stabbed the victim a number of times,” he said.

“The victim was able to run away and both males left the area.”

Security guards spotted the stabbed man a short distance away.

Paramedics transported the man to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police were later called to a nearby residence in the same suburb, where they found a 25-year-old woman with multiple serious stab wounds to her stomach.

The woman was also taken to Royal Darwin Hospital, where she remains in a serious but stable condition.

Two men, aged 21 and 26, were taken into custody and are assisting detectives. No charges have been laid.

An “edged weapon” is believed to have been used by the offenders.

“It is a terrible incident to occur in Karama and two stabbings on the same night in separate locations is very serious,” Detective Senior Sergeant Evans said.

Both men were arrested over the first assault, and one of the two men is assisting police with inquiries into the second, he said.

Detectives do not yet know why the victims were attacked.

The woman is known to the men in custody but the two victims are not known to each other.

Investigations continue.