Police are yet to give a clear indication of any motivation for the crash, but we are starting to get a picture of how it occurred.
- The white SUV ran through the intersection on Flinders and Elizabeth Streets in Melbourne around 4.45pm.
- According to various eyewitness reports, it reached pedestrians about six or seven seconds after they were given the green light to cross the road.
- It came from the Swanston Street end of Flinders Street and hit a number of pedestrians before striking the concrete barrier at the tram stop on Flinders Street just past the Elizabeth Street intersection.
- That intersection is one of the busiest in Melbourne and is multi-directional, meaning that when the pedestrian lights go, people cross on the diagonal and swarm the road. Witnesses say between 40 and 60 people were in the intersection when the SUV went through.
- One witness told the ABC a number of bystanders responded quickly to assist those who had been injured, and one immediately approached the driver’s side of the car. The suggestion is they attempted to detain them.
- Police arrived within minutes.
- The male driver was arrested very quickly by police, and a second man, who was also alleged to have been in the car, has also been arrested.
- Police say have said they believe the crash was a “deliberate act” but it is too early to know what motivated it.
- The alleged driver of the car is a 32-year-old Australian citizen of Afghan descent who was arrested at the scene by an off-duty police officer.
- The man is known to police but there is no evidence or intelligence connecting either him or this incident to terrorism or extremism.
- Police say he does have a history of drug use and mental health issues and police are investigating those issues in connection with the incident.
- Another man, 24, was arrested a short time after the incident. He was filming it on his mobile phone and was searched by police, who allegedly found knives in his bag. Police do not believe he knows the 32-year-old man or is connected in any way.
- Nineteen people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment, including the alleged driver and the arresting off-duty officer.
- On Friday, 12 people remained in hospital with only one, a man in his 80s, in a critical condition. A four-year-old boy who suffered head injuries in the crash was still in hospital.
- Police say this was a “quarantined” incident and does not increase the risk at major upcoming events like the Boxing Day Test.
