[Ynet] Australian media say up to 19 people have been injured after a car drove into pedestrians on a sidewalk in central Melbourne.
Police have arrested the driver of the white SUV, which crashed into a cable car stop, but were not able to immediately confirm the cause of the incident or whether it was terrorism-related.
Media reports say up to 19 pedestrians have been treated for injuries, with 12 taken to hospitals, including a pre-school aged child in serious condition with head injuries.
I suppose it could be a drank driver, but...
A man arrested after a car was driven into pedestrians in central Melbourne has a history of drug use and mental health problems, police have revealed as they said the incident is not believed to be terror-related.
| Nutters have attacked for the glory of Allah, too. They just aren’t likely to be part of a highly choreographed and rehearsed plan with multiple attackers carrying guns and bombs. |
The driver of the white SUV that ploughed into a crowd - leaving at least 14 people injured, several of them critically - in what officers believe was a "deliberate act" was a 32-year-old Australian citizen of Afghan descent.
| The odds suddenly increased that this was a case of Sudden Jihad Syndrome. |
There is no evidence or intelligence to suggest a link with terrorism at this stage,
| ...if terrorism is defined as having been been planned by an official ISIS/Al Qaeda/etc. ad nauseum attack planner and undertaken by trained ISIS, etc. cadres. But if it is someone who decided to kill for the glory of Allah, possibly but not necessarily encouraged by ISIS or Al Qaeda messages that Moslems around the world should undertake to attack unbelievers with whatever is at hand, then this could well be. Thank goodness for the bollards put up after a similar attack by what sounds like a paranoid schizophrenic — Christian variety — last January... |
Melbourne's acting police commissioner Shane Patton said, adding that this is no known continued threat.
He added that a second arrested man, aged 24, is not believed to be involved. He was seen filming the incident with a mobile phone and was then searched by police, who found three knives in his bag.
| Was a second terror attack averted? |
In a terrifying incident during the pre-Christmas shopping rush, the four-wheeled drive vehicle rammed into a large number of pedestrians at high speed on the pavement outside Flinders Street railway station, one of the Australian city’s main transport hubs.
Earlier media reports suggested that a total of 19 people had been injured.
Police said 14 people had been taken to hospital for treatment, including several who were described as being critically ill.
The incident occurred when the vehicle struck a number of pedestrians in front of Flinders Street Station just after 4.30pm.
| The Daily Mail describes the miscreant as a lone wolf, and has a good photo of the well groomed miscreant with a close-cropped beard held down on the ground by police, as well as a photo of the second man, who appears darker, with a bushy beard about 8” long, adding: |
The driver was known to police and has a history of drug use, mental health issues and criminal history.
| Update from the Daily Mail at 4:00p.m. ET: |
Four are fighting for life in hospital after a car 'deliberately' ploughed into rush hour crowds in the heart of Melbourne.
A white Suzuki SUV with p-plates, driven by 32-year-old man of Afghan descent, who The Herald Sun have identified as Saeed Noori, crashed into a large group of commuters and shoppers at the corner of Melbourne's busy Elizabeth Street and Flinders Street at 4.41pm on Thursday.
The 32-year-old lone wolf driver was known to police and was arrested at the scene.
The driver, who is an Australian citizen, is under police guard at hospital with shoulder and hand injuries.
Victoria Police said the driver has a history of drug use, criminal history with a minor assault in 2010 and is on a mental health plan. |