The 29-year-old man has been arrested on eight charges, with police alleging he targeted people while armed in the early hours of Saturday morning in Bundaberg, at one stage kidnapping the teenage girl.
The man ran at a car at about 12.45am on Saturday, forcing the driver to stop before accelerating away once he saw the knife, police said.
About 10 minutes later a 15-year-girl and boy spoke with the man briefly on Maryborough Street before running away.
The man ran after them before finding the girl who had hidden in bushes, holding her by the neck and taking her down Walker Street while threatening her with the knife, it is alleged.
The girl was released when the 15-year-old boy returned and the teenagers again ran away while being pursued by the man, before they flagged down a passing ambulance, police said.
At about 3.15am, the man threatened a 42-year-old woman sitting in the back of a van on Walker Street, it is alleged.
Police say the man got into the van with her before the woman ran away.
Responding to calls by the woman and the driver, police began patrols and later located the man.
The Cleveland man has been charged with three counts of going armed so as to cause fear, two counts of threatening violence, as well as assault, kidnapping and unlawful entry of a vehicle.
He will appear in a Bundaberg court on Tuesday.
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