NSW Police have confirmed that a “stabbing list” circulated on social media prior to a local show in Dubbo, western NSW, is not connected to an alleged stabbing incident in the town over the weekend.
The anonymous post, titled “Dubbo Show stabbing list 2025,” appeared last Tuesday in a Dubbo community Facebook forum before the city’s three-day event starting Friday. The list named sixteen people and is being treated by police as a threat.
“Police are investigating the origin and authorship of the stabbing list,” said Orana Mid-Western Police Superintendent Timothy Chinn.
On Saturday morning, three men were stabbed in Dubbo’s CBD, but police reported all three are expected to fully recover. Superintendent Chinn stressed there is “no connection whatsoever” between the social media post and the stabbings.
Two men, aged 27 and 23, were arrested in Dubbo on Saturday night and charged with multiple offenses, including three counts of reckless wounding each. They are scheduled to appear in Dubbo Local Court on June 19.
The three stabbing victims, all in their 20s, were taken to Dubbo Hospital. Police said the incident was not random, as the men knew each other.
Knife-scanning operation
Superintendent Chinn clarified that the stabbing list was not the reason for a police “wanding” operation conducted during the Dubbo Show. Over Friday and Saturday nights, officers scanned 120 people for weapons using handheld metal detectors as part of “Operation Ares,” a planned high-visibility policing measure for the event.
“No knives or weapons were found during the scans,” Chinn said. “This indicates a positive safety outcome for the event.”
Show organizers reported that over 29,000 people attended the weekend event, including volunteers and exhibitors.
Decline in knife crime
Official statistics show a significant drop in knife-related assaults and robberies in NSW over the past 20 years. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research recorded 1,531 such incidents in 2024, down nearly 65% from 4,307 in 2005.
Superintendent Chinn commented on social media’s role in shaping public perception of crime, noting the importance of police efforts to reassure the community that crime rates have not risen in recent years.
