Four dead, more than twenty hurt when driver ploughs into Australian pedestrians
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A man deliberately drove into pedestrians, killing four and injuring more than 20, in the center of Australia`s 2nd largest city of Melbourne on Friday, but police said the incident was not terrorism-related.
Police eventually rammed the car and shot the 26-year-old driver in the arm, before dragging him from the vehicle and arresting him. Police said the man had a history of family violence and was dreamed over a stabbing earlier in the day.
Pursued by police cars, the man had been seen driving erratically before speeding into a pedestrian mall, ploughing into people, police said. A shop movie showcased several people diving into a convenience store as the car raced along the footpath.
«We witnessed about half a dozen people that ricocheted off the car one way or another. I spotted one person fly up almost roof level of the car as they got thrown up against one of the retail stores,» Sharn Baylis, 46, told Reuters by telephone.
«You could hear the gasping and the screaming from people, then you just embarked hearing the screams and the howling as it drowned in,» she said.
Baylis said she rushed across tram tracks and with other bystanders and gave cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) very first aid to a badly hurt man who had been run over.
“I think it was pretty much in vain at that point. The seriousness of his injuries, he was very likely the worst I witnessed.”
One of the dead was a child. Four children, including a three-month-old baby, were taken to Melbourne`s Royal Children`s Hospital, said a hospital spokesman.
»We`re not regarding this as a terrorism-related incident,” Victoria state police commissioner Graham Ashton told reporters on Friday.
Police had earlier chased the driver, who was desired over a domestic onslaught and driving offences, Ashton said.
Movie from a witness displayed a maroon colored car driving around in circles in an intersection outside Flinders St railway station in the city`s central business district, with the driver shouting at people and stringing up his arm out the window.
Two people approached the car, evidently attempting to stop it before it drove off with police pursuing. (For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2jTj2Y9)
Witness Maria Kitjapanon told Melbourne`s Age newspaper that police eventually rammed the car.
«There were very likely ten police surrounding that fellow`s car, with guns drawn, and they fired into the car. Then they dragged someone out via the passengers side, then all ten of them sat on top of him,» she said.
Melbourne is hosting the Australian Open tennis grand jam and is packed with thousands of tourists, only a few blocks from where the incident occurred. Police said the tennis tournament continued as normal.
Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since two thousand fourteen and authorities have said they have thwarted a number of plots. There have been several «lone wolf» assaults, including a two thousand fourteen cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead.
Friday`s incident primarily raised fears about the possibility of another attack.
Last year, in attacks claimed by Islamic State, trucks were driven into crowded pedestrian precincts in separate incidents in Nice and Berlin, killing scores.
Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Jamie Liberated in Sydney, Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Lincoln Feast
Four dead, more than twenty hurt when driver ploughs into Australian pedestrians, Reuters
Four dead, more than twenty hurt when driver ploughs into Australian pedestrians
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A man deliberately drove into pedestrians, killing four and injuring more than 20, in the center of Australia`s 2nd largest city of Melbourne on Friday, but police said the incident was not terrorism-related.
Police eventually rammed the car and shot the 26-year-old driver in the arm, before dragging him from the vehicle and arresting him. Police said the man had a history of family violence and was desired over a stabbing earlier in the day.
Pursued by police cars, the man had been seen driving erratically before speeding into a pedestrian mall, ploughing into people, police said. A shop movie displayed several people diving into a convenience store as the car raced along the footpath.
«We witnessed about half a dozen people that ricocheted off the car one way or another. I witnessed one person fly up almost roof level of the car as they got thrown up against one of the retail stores,» Sharn Baylis, 46, told Reuters by telephone.
«You could hear the gasping and the screaming from people, then you just embarked hearing the screams and the howling as it buried in,» she said.
Baylis said she rushed across tram tracks and with other bystanders and gave cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) very first aid to a badly hurt man who had been run over.
“I think it was pretty much in vain at that point. The seriousness of his injuries, he was very likely the worst I eyed.”
One of the dead was a child. Four children, including a three-month-old baby, were taken to Melbourne`s Royal Children`s Hospital, said a hospital spokesman.
»We`re not regarding this as a terrorism-related incident,” Victoria state police commissioner Graham Ashton told reporters on Friday.
Police had earlier chased the driver, who was wished over a domestic attack and driving offences, Ashton said.
Movie from a witness displayed a maroon colored car driving around in circles in an intersection outside Flinders St railway station in the city`s central business district, with the driver shouting at people and draping his arm out the window.
Two people approached the car, evidently attempting to stop it before it drove off with police pursuing. (For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2jTj2Y9)
Witness Maria Kitjapanon told Melbourne`s Age newspaper that police eventually rammed the car.
«There were most likely ten police surrounding that boy`s car, with guns drawn, and they fired into the car. Then they dragged someone out via the passengers side, then all ten of them sat on top of him,» she said.
Melbourne is hosting the Australian Open tennis grand wedge and is packed with thousands of tourists, only a few blocks from where the incident occurred. Police said the tennis tournament continued as normal.
Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since two thousand fourteen and authorities have said they have thwarted a number of plots. There have been several «lone wolf» assaults, including a two thousand fourteen cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead.
Friday`s incident primarily raised fears about the possibility of another attack.
Last year, in attacks claimed by Islamic State, trucks were driven into crowded pedestrian precincts in separate incidents in Nice and Berlin, killing scores.
Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Jamie Liberated in Sydney, Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Lincoln Feast