Melbourne, Australia - The man who deliberately drove a car into a crowd in Melbourne is a drug user with mental health issues but no known terrorism links, police say. The Australian citizen of Afghan descent was taken into custody after a struggle at the scene of the incident. The car the 32-year-old was driving hit a number of pedestrians on Flinders Street, a busy junction in the centre of the city, said Victoria Police.
Fourteen people have been injured, with several in a critical condition. A second man, 24, was arrested after being seen filming the incident. He had a bag of knives with him, police added. "It is now believed he had no links to the incident, however he is still assisting police with enquiries," they said.
The driver was arrested by an off-duty police officer. Police say he was the only person in the car and a fight broke out after he resisted detention. The officer sustained shoulder and hand injuries during the arrest and was taken to hospital. The driver was also taken to hospital, under police guard. The white SUV struck pedestrians just after 16:30 local time (05:30 GMT). Witness Jim Stoupas, who runs a business nearby, told the BBC: "It just barrelled through a completely full intersection of pedestrians. There was no attempt to brake, no attempt to swerve." He added: "I saw probably five to eight people on the ground with people swarming around them [to help]. Within a minute, I think, there were police on site, so it was very, very speedy." Victoria Ambulance said in a statement that a child of pre-school age with serious head injuries was among those taken to hospital.(FA)