A man who ran from the scene has been taken into custody, police said in a statement. There is no ongoing threat to people in Sydney, said New South Wales state Police Minister Yasmin Catley.

Police said no one was killed in the attack, which came after a "domestic-related" incident in a car that collided with another vehicle in the southern suburb of Engadine.

The attacker "was armed with what we believe to be a boxcutter," police superintendent Donald Faulds said in a televised press conference.
Aerial footage of the scene by the Australian Broadcasting Corp showed two crashed cars cordoned off with police tape.

Sydney, a city of 5 million, has seen a spate of knife attacks this year, prompting the New South Wales government to toughen its knife laws. The state parliament passed laws in June giving police electronic metal-detecting scanners to check people without a warrant at shopping centres, sporting venues and public transport stations.

In April, six people were killed and 12 injured in a knife attack at a mall in Sydney's Bondi area. (Reuters)