A man is under police guard after a woman was stabbed to death at a zoo in Canberra on Monday afternoon.
ACT Police and emergency services were called to Australia’s National Zoo and Aquarium at 12.50pm, responding to reports of a disturbance.
The police said a 29-year-old woman was found deceased in the store room of a “commercial kitchen area” and it appeared she had been “stabbed to death”.
A 29-year-old man was taken into custody and has been transported to hospital under police guard, police said on Monday afternoon.
The man and the woman were known to each other and were co-workers at the zoo.
ACT Policing Detective Superintendent of Criminal Investigations Hall O’Meagher said witnesses heard “loud screams” around the kitchen area and responded to the disturbance.
“No charges have been laid at this time, a homicide investigation has commenced and further inquiries will include an examination of the scene forensically, talking to witnesses and a post-mortem examination that will confirm the cause of death of this woman,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.”
The knife police allege was used in the stabbing was found at the scene.
Detective Superintendent O’Meagher said the victim was found in a storeroom of the kitchen.
“We don’t believe there were any direct witnesses to the disturbance however there were people in the area at the time and those witnesses have spoken to police,” he said.
“It looks like she has been stabbed to death with a knife.”
Detective Superintendent O’Meagher said the man suffered “significant” wounds but was in a stable condition in hospital.
Photos from the scene show an extensive police response, with investigators interviewing people at the zoo.
The incident was contained to the zoo and there is no further threat to the ACT community, the police said.
The woman and the man were both from Canberra.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing and the police said the zoo would be closed “for some time”.
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