Story by Hamish Broome •
DINERS AT a popular restaurant in Mullumbimby, near Byron Bay, fled in terror last night as a man waved a knife on the footpath outside, “eyeballing” them and making threatening gestures.
A witness said the man stopped a large black van with tinted windows on the roundabout outside the crowded Milk and Honey pizza restaurant and emerged with the weapon.
He also produced a spear and a hatchet, and chased members of the public filming him up Burringbar Street.
Timmy Brebner, owner of the restaurant, said the incident was terrifying for his customers and young staff.
Many of the alfresco diners ran away in fear, Mr Brebner said, leaving their belongings behind.
Management at the restaurant brought remaining customers inside and it “went into lockdown”.
“We kept cooking and serving people, trying to ignore him,” Mr Brebner said.
Diners watched from inside before he drove off. Police officers pursued him as he drove towards Byron Bay.
The man, in his 30s, with a shaven head and facial tattoos was arrested and is being held in a mental health unit at Tweed Hospital.