Nineteen injured after SUV rams pedestrians outside Melbourne train station, police say incident was 'deliberate act'

RT
Thu, 21 Dec 2017 10:49 UTC

© Malcolm Sheridan / Reuters

Emergency cars are seen on the street following the incident outside Flinders St station in Melbourne, Australia, December 21, 2017

Nineteen people have been injured after an SUV rammed into pedestrians outside a train station in Melbourne. Two people were arrested, with police saying they believe the incident was a "deliberate act."

The incident occurred in front of Flinders Street Station, between Elizabeth and Swanston streets, just after 4:30pm local time, according to police.

"We could hear this noise, as we looked left, we saw this white car, it just mauled everybody down. People are flying everywhere. We heard thump, thump. People are running everywhere," an eyewitness named Sue told News.com.au. Videos on social media show chaotic scenes, with injured people lying on the ground and law enforcement agents urging people to leave the area.

The car just sped up on purpose," a witness told 9News. Another witness by the name of David told ABC that the car was going "between 60 and 100kms an hour" and "hit people in a fair speed and at least one or two of them got thrown pretty high into the air."

Nineteen people were taken to the hospital, and "several" are in critical condition, Commander Russell Barrett of Victoria Police told reporters. A four-year-old girl is reportedly among those transferred to the hospital.

"At this stage we believe this is a deliberate act, however, we do not yet know the motivation and it is still early stages in the investigation," Barrett said.

Two people were arrested following the incident, including the driver of the SUV.

Footage circulating online shows two police officers dragging a man in a white shirt and jeans away from the passenger side of the crashed vehicle. Another video published on social media shows officers restraining him moments later, after pulling him to the side of the road. The man appears to be unconscious as officers slap his face and search his pockets. He was reportedly then handcuffed by police.

© Melanie Burton / Reuters

Comment: The driver has a history of drug abuse and mental health issues, and unsurprisingly was known to police. Currently police say they have no evidence to connect the incident with terrorism.

The driver who rammed his car into Melbourne pedestrians is a 32-year-old Australian citizen of Afghan descent with a history of drug use and mental health issues. Police say there is no evidence that it was an act of terrorism.

Speaking at a press conference, Melbourne authorities said the driver was "known to police" and remains in custody. However, they said they "don't at this time have any evidence or intelligence to indicate a connection with terrorism."

A 24-year-old male was also arrested at the scene after he was seen to be filming the incident with his mobile phone. He was searched by police and found to have three knives in his possession. He is still being interviewed by police, though authorities say they do not believe he was connected to the incident.