Three people, including one child, have been killed and at least 20 more are injured after a car ploughed through pedestrians in the centre of the Australian city of Melbourne at lunchtime Friday.
The incident is not thought to be linked to terrorism but police believe it was deliberate.
Victoria state police commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed that officers had chased the driver of the car, a 26-year-old man, who was wanted by police in connection with a stabbing incident earlier in the day.
The man, who Mr Ashton confirmed has mental health, drug-related issues and “extensive family violence history” is said to have driven the car directly into a pedestrian mall packed with people on Bourke Street.
As witnesses rushed to care for the injured, he was eventually surrounded and arrested.
From the scene in #BourkeStreet #Melbourne @abcnews @abcnewsMelb pic.twitter.com/mRcOle1eMz
— Margaret Burin (@margaretburin) January 20, 2017
Four children, including a three-month-old baby, have been taken to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital for treatment.
“We witnessed about half a dozen people that ricocheted off the car one way or another. I saw 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.
“You could hear the gasping and the screaming from people, then you just started hearing the screams and the crying as it sunk in,” she said.
Anyone seeking information regarding the victims of the incident in Melbourne can call the emergency line 1800 727 077.