Poignant final Facebook posts of British backpacker, 21, stabbed to death by French knifeman shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in horrific rampage at Australian hostel
Mia Ayliffe-Chung killed in attack that left another Brit man in a critical condition
A BRITISH backpacker living her "dream" has been stabbed to death when a Frenchman shouting "Allahu Akbar" went on a rampage at a hostel in Australia.
Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, who had been working as a bartender for the past six months, was knifed in a frenzied attack in front of 30 horrified witnesses.
Another Brit, named locally as Tom Jackson, is fighting for his life in hospital after reports that he was stabbed up to 15 times.
Mia's final Facebook posts show her enjoying her new life abroad as she declares she is "living my dream".
Only weeks ago, the backpacker posted on Facebook: "The hardest thing living my dream, missing the important home things. Graduations, people in hospital, funerals and birthdays."
Her mother responded: "You'll be back in the blink of an eye, and we'll all still be doing the same old stuff for the most part. Live your dream and know you're in all our hearts."
It has emerged the knifeman also stabbed a dog to death as he rampaged through a room of around 30 people on Tuesday night.
Cops have now arrested a 29-year-old man who they say screamed extremist Islamic prayers during the attack.
The stabbing took place at an accommodation complex in the Home Hill area of Queensland, at around 11.15pm local time on Tuesday.
Mia, also known as Mimi, was from Wirksworth in Derbyshire and graduated from Buxton College last year after studying child care.
She was taking time off to travel after completing her studies and had already visited Morocco, Turkey, India and Thailand before leaving for Australia, where she had initially planned to spend a year.
She had been dating an Australian man, Jamison Stead, up until a few weeks ago. He told he was still trying to find out details of the attack.
"It's a very quiet town. We heard the screams, I was terrified, it wasn't very pleasant at all. I'll never forget it.
"A sleepy little town like this, you don't expect things like that to happen."
In a press conference, deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the investigation was in its early stages and all motivations were being considered.
He said: "Initial inquiries indicate that comments which may be construed as being of an extremist nature were made by the alleged offender.
"It is alleged that the suspect used the phrase 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack and when arrested by police."
Detective Superintendent Ray Rohweder from the Queensland Police Service said officers were confronted with a "terrible scene" when they arrived.
Mia was found dead at the scene and the British man was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
Mr Gollschewski said the families of both victims had been contacted with the help of the British consulate.
He said: "Our thoughts and condolences are with those families and their loved ones at this difficult time."
He said he could not tell reporters how long they had been in the country and whether they knew each other was part of the investigation but they were all staying at the same accommodation.
The man taken into custody has been transferred to hospital for treatment for what police believe are non life-threatening injuries sustained in the incident.
He is a visitor to Australia who has been in the country since around March on a temporary visa and has no known local connections, Mr Gollschewski said.
He said they were still trying to find out what he has been doing in the country since his arrival but he was not known to police before the attack.
Police are not searching for anyone else in relation to the incident and there is no known ongoing threat to the community.
Mr Gollschewski added: "This is not about race or religion. It is individual criminal behaviour."
Australian Federal Police and the country's Border Force are also involved in the investigation.
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