The man accused of running down pedestrians with a car during a rampage through Melbourne’s Bourke Street will face an additional charge of murder, Victoria police assistant commissioner Stephen Fontana said on Thursday.
On 20 January Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, allegedly drove the car on to the footpath and through crowds on one of the busiest shopping strips in the city.
Giving an update on the casualties, Fontana said 37 people were taken to hospital and three of those remained there, one in a critical condition. Six people have died.
“Gargasoulas is currently facing five charges of murder and he will face another charge of murder in due course,” Fontana said. “Other proposed charges include attempted murder, conduct endangering life and other related offences. These will be consolidated and presented to him at a later date once we have finished obtaining most of the witness statements.”
Gargasoulas is next due to face court on 1 August.
From Friday, 24 detectives will spend two days phoning 483 people who called in to provide their details to police.
“What we are hoping to do is touch base and start the process of obtaining details about what took place,” Fontana said.
“This includes not just civilian witnesses but also members of emergency services such as the ambulance services and the fire brigade. We will have staff from the victims’ advice program embedded into the call centre where we’re conducting the calls from because we know and we’re mindful that a number of people will need referrals. We do understand that these tragic events have had a significant impact.”
More than 1,000 police had sought support after the incident, he said. Many officers who had responded to the scene or worked with victims and witnesses in the aftermath had been deeply impacted and traumatised, he said.
“This is because our employees, we are just normal people,” Fontana said. “Whilst we’re trained and skilled to conduct the job, it does have an impact on us. This was an extraordinary event. It has really had an impact across our organisation.”
Among those killed was a three-month-old baby and a 10-year-old. Gargasoulas was out on bail at the time, prompting a state government review of bail laws.
In the aftermath of the assault, pedestrians and shoppers rushed to help the victims before police and paramedics arrived. Paramedics released a video last week thanking the public for their assistance and support.
“Wherever I looked and there was someone injured, they weren’t on their own, they had people with them,” a paramedic in the video said. “They weren’t just people patting their brows, they were people providing medical assistance.”
The fund for victims has received more than $1m in donations so far, including $100,000 from each of the Victorian and commonwealth governments. A panel that includes the widely respected former Victoria police commissioner Ken Lay has been appointed to make decisions on how the money should be spent.
