Emergency services were called to a block of Cliff Road units at 7.28pm where a 58-year-old man was found unconscious and bloody in a laundry. He had suffered stab wounds to his back, behind his left shoulder.

Ambulance NSW Illawarra duty operations manager Inspector Norm Rees said the victim went into cardiac arrest and praised police efforts with CPR until paramedics arrived at the scene.

​Dozens of onlookers watched on by the side of the busy road as he was rushed to Wollongong Hospital by ambulance. Treatment continued for another half an hour, though the man was unable to be revived.

Police later arrested a man at a home on nearby Corrimal Street and was taken to Wollongong Police Station and charged. He was refused bail.