Man Put Hunting Knife on Melbourne Counter Day Before Fatal Stabbing
A convenience store worker in Melbourne's CBD says a man put a hunting knife on her counter one day before a delivery rider was allegedly stabbed to death nearby. Roberto Urbano, 51, faced court on Monday charged with murder, and local workers describe an area they call unsafe.
A man put a hunting knife on the counter of a convenience store in Melbourne's central business district one day before a delivery rider was allegedly stabbed to death metres away, the store worker said.
Razia Rani, who works at City Mart near Queen Victoria Market, said the man used the knife to try to crack open his car key. She did not notice the weapon until she was back inside her glass booth with batteries from a rear shelf.
She described "a horrible knife, big knife" with a curved blade. She stepped back, terrified, and thought about calling police. She did not, she said, because threats and thefts in the area often recur and the man had barely spoken.
The next day, Roberto Urbano, 51, allegedly stabbed 47-year-old delivery rider Feng Jianming near the shop. Urbano faced court on Monday, charged with murder and intentionally causing serious injury.
What detectives believe
Detectives believe an altercation began when Feng and another delivery rider confronted a man they caught tampering with their bikes. Feng was working for the delivery service HungryPanda. The second rider was injured.
Feng lay dying on Friday night outside a hot pot restaurant on Frederick Way. By Monday, floral tributes and candles covered the footpath. Staff at a neighboring hotel hung black sheets over their windows to shield the lobby, and police door-knocked businesses in A'Beckett Street and nearby.
Workers describe a tense area
Rani said the neighboring liquor store has an incident "every week". "Someone is coming, taking the booze. They run away. Sometimes we are chasing. Sometimes we just ignore it," she said. Staff sometimes skip calling police because they are "just too tired".
Rani also said the 24-hour shop struggles to find night staff.
Delivery riders collecting meals at the restaurant on Monday told of similar worries. Karan Gaddam said rough sleepers sometimes take meals from unattended bags while riders are inside. Another rider, Ming Ku, said he often picks up in the area. "It's not safe," he said.
Resident Maria Vystavkina said the area felt safe even at night and that violence can happen anywhere. Some local workers blame a high concentration of people with untreated mental health and substance abuse problems. A cafe worker named Alex said more police would be welcome.
Jo Stafford, police assistant commissioner for the north-west metro region, told a press conference in the CBD on Monday that policing alone could not solve the problem.
Major Brendan Nottle of the Salvation Army said more vulnerable people in the city are arming themselves with knives and other weapons for protection. "Those people feel unwelcome, unprotected, and that is deeply concerning to us," he said.
