source : the age
A celebrity dentist armed with a knife attacked and seriously injured two women in their eastern suburbs apartment building before being shot dead by police on Tuesday morning.
Steven Lin, author of The Dental Diet, died from a single gunshot fired after he lunged at officers with a knife. Earlier attempts to Taser him had been unsuccessful.
Police were called to the St Neot Avenue apartment building just before 11am after receiving reports an armed man had attacked the women, who were not believed to have been known to him.
Police said Lin attacked one of the women in the building’s laundry before ascending to a separate floor and attacking a second woman after forcing his way into her apartment. Both women were taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a stable condition. The woman attacked in her apartment was expected to undergo surgery on Tuesday for a broken nose.
Lin, a former principal of Helix Dentistry on the Central Coast, had an Instagram following of 250,000 and regularly posted on social media until mid-2024, when his family said he started a methamphetamine-induced downward spiral. Lin had also hosted a podcast called Mouth Brain Connection, according to his Instagram profile. It is unclear if Lin was affected by drugs at the time of Tuesday’s attacks.
Lin’s drug use increased after his separation from his wife, Cassandra, in early 2024. He ceased any involvement in Helix Dentistry about mid-2024.
It is unclear why Lin, who was last known to be living on the Central Coast, was at the complex. One witness reported hearing a woman screaming for help moments before Lin tried to flee from the apartment building through a window as police addressed him.
“He was trying to jump out the window and they said ‘Get the f— back in the house,’ ” the witness told Nine News.
Officers fired a Taser at Lin in an unsuccessful attempt to disarm him. A single gunshot was fired at Lin when he lunged at officers. He was treated by paramedics, but died outside the apartment complex.
“Police were responding to help people in distress,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, today someone has lost their life. That is tragic.”
Lin was facing a raft of charges including assault occasioning bodily harm, breaching an apprehended domestic violence order, stalking or intimidating intending fear, and choking.
He was due to face court on several charges this year, including for breaches of an apprehended domestic violence order in March. His bail conditions at the time of his death did not prevent him from being in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Police on Tuesday launched a critical incident investigation into the shooting. Homicide squad detectives will lead the investigation, which will be overseen by the state’s policing watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
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