Deadly attack in an Australian hostel

A tragedy occurred in a hostel on Tuesday, 23 August.  A violent stabbing resulted in the death of two backpackers and left the hostel manager with significant injuries.  Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims as well as the other travelers who were impacted by the attack, and the hostel team from Home Hill Backpackers.
 

On the evening of 23 August Mia Ayliffe-Chung was roused from her sleep by her dorm mate, Smail Ayad, and stabbed repeatedly with a kitchen knife.  It is suspected that Ayad had developed a romantic infatuation with the young woman while working together in a nearby sugar cane farm, but that his affections were not returned.  It is unclear what sparked the attack.

Mia died from her injuries at the hostel.

Two men attempted to stop the attack and save Mia’s life.  Fellow traveler, Tom Jackson, received severe wounds in the process.  He remained on life support in the hospital for many days, but passed away on Tuesday, 30 August.  Hostel Manager, Grant Shultz, also received serious leg wounds while attempting to save her, reportedly resulting in over 100 stitches. Luckily he survived the attack.  

Several other travelers received less serious injuries during the course of events.

Approximately 30 fellow backpackers witnessed the attack. They were severely distressed, and trauma counselling is being provided for them.  

Ayad is being charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder on Mr. Schultz.  He is also being charged with 12 counts of assault, all of which were from aggression towards police offices while in custody.  Ayad has also been charged with one count of animal cruelty after killing the hostel owners’ dog.  He is due in court in October.

A tragedy like this one could happen in any of our hostels, which makes it particularly poignant.  While most hostels take significant steps to insure the safety of our guests, it is simply not possible to safeguard against every situation.  The hostel where the attack took place had security cameras. The victims and the attacker were already acquainted. The attacker’s behavior before the incident did not provide any cause for concern, as he was reported to have been “a nice bloke,” fun loving, caring, respectful and polite.  There is little to nothing that anyone could have done to predict that an event like this would occur.   

That said, we recommend being vigilant and taking precautions to ensure the safety of your staff and guests:

• Verify the identity of all guests
• Trust your intuition about guests, and remove those who become aggressive, destructive or violent
• Be conscious of the atmosphere in your hostel and alert to unusual tensions
• Talk to your guests to establish an open relationship, and ask them to inform you about any concerns
• Make regular rounds through the property
• Take all threats seriously, and respond immediately to any act of violence
• Use a private security company in addition to local police to ensure a prompt response and sufficient assistance for any emergency situation

If anyone would like to support the victims of this crime, you can contact the Australian Red Cross to ask what contributions would be the most helpful.